Network hardware devices organized in a wireless mesh network for content distribution to client device having no internet connectivity

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/154,327, filed May 13, 2016, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 62/288,396, filed Jan. 28, 2016, the entire contents of both are incorporated by reference herein. This application is related to U.S. Pat. No. 9,887,708, issued Feb. 6, 2018, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/154,339, filed May 13, 2016.

BACKGROUND

A large and growing population of users is enjoying entertainment through the consumption of digital media items, such as music, movies, images, electronic books, and so on. The users employ various electronic devices to consume such media items. Among these electronic devices (referred to herein as user devices or user equipment) are electronic book readers, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable media players, tablet computers, netbooks, laptops and the like. These electronic devices wirelessly communicate with a communications infrastructure to enable the consumption of the digital media items. In order to wirelessly communicate with other devices, these electronic devices include one or more antennas.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The present inventions will be understood more fully from the detailed description given below and from the accompanying drawings of various embodiments of the present invention, which, however, should not be taken to limit the present invention to the specific embodiments, but are for explanation and understanding only.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> is a network diagram of network hardware devices organized in a wireless mesh network (WMN) for content distribution to client devices in an environment of limited connectivity to broadband Internet infrastructure according to one embodiment.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> is a block diagram of a network hardware device with five radios operating concurrently in a WMN according to one embodiment.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3A</figref> is a block diagram of a mesh node with multiple radios according to one embodiment.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3B</figref> is a network diagram of a WMN in which multiple content files are stored at different locations according to one embodiment.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> is a block diagram of a mesh network device according to one embodiment.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref> is a block diagram of antenna switching circuitry of a network hardware device according to one embodiment.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6</figref> is a block diagram of antenna switching circuitry of a network hardware device according to another embodiment.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 7</figref> is a block diagram of antenna switching circuitry of a network hardware device according to another embodiment.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> illustrates a multi-radio, multi-channel (MRMC) network device according to one embodiment.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 9</figref> illustrates a pair of cross polarized dipole antennas within a chamber of the MRMC network device of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> according to one embodiment.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 10</figref> illustrates a pair of vertical polarized dipole antennas within a chamber of the MRMC network device of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> according to another embodiment.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 11</figref> illustrates a pair of cross polarized patch antennas within a chamber of the MRMC network device of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> according to another embodiment.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 12</figref> illustrates a pair of coil antennas within an inner chamber of the MRMC network device of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> according to one embodiment.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 13</figref> illustrates a dual-feed, dual-polarized patch antenna within an inner chamber of the MRMC network device of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> according to another embodiment.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 14A</figref> illustrates a wide area network (WAN) antenna, a pair of cross polarized dipole antennas, and a dual-band WLAN antenna within a chamber of the MRMC network device of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> according to one embodiment.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 14B</figref> illustrates a WAN antenna and a dual-band WLAN antenna within a chamber of the MRMC network device according to another embodiment.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 15</figref> illustrates a top view illustrating locations of the two WAN antennas, eight pairs of directional antennas, and two dual-band WLAN antennas on a circuit board of the MRMC network device of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> according to one embodiment.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 16</figref> illustrates a dual-band WLAN antenna of the MRMC network device at another location than within a chamber according to another embodiment.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 17</figref> is a block diagram of a network hardware device according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A wireless mesh network (WMN) containing multiple mesh network devices, organized in a mesh topology, is described. The mesh network devices in the WMN cooperate in distribution of content files to client consumption devices in an environment of limited connectivity to broadband Internet infrastructure. The embodiments described herein may be implemented where there is the lack, or slow rollout, of suitable broadband Internet infrastructure in developing nations, for example. These mesh networks can be used in the interim before broadband Internet infrastructure becomes widely available in those developing nations.

One system of devices organized in a WMN includes a first network hardware device having at least one of a point-to-point wireless link to access content files over the Internet or a wired connection to access the content files stored on a storage device coupled to the first network hardware device. The network hardware devices are also referred to herein as mesh routers, mesh network devices, mesh nodes, Meshboxes, or Meshbox nodes. Multiple network hardware devices wirelessly are connected through a network backbone formed by multiple peer-to-peer (P2P) wireless connections (i.e., wireless connections between multiple pairs of the network hardware devices). The multiple network devices are wirelessly connected to one or more client consumption devices by node-to-client (N2C) wireless connections. The multiple network devices are wirelessly connected to a mesh network control service (MNCS) device by cellular connections. The cellular connections may have lower bandwidths than the point-to-point wireless link. A second network hardware device is wirelessly connected to the first network hardware device over a first P2P connection. During operation, the second network hardware device is wirelessly connected to a first client consumption device over a first N2C connection. The second network hardware device receives a first request for a first content file from the first client consumption device over the first N2C connection. The second hardware device sends a second request for the first content file to the first network hardware device over the first P2P connection. The second hardware device receives the first content file from the first network hardware device over the first P2P connection and sends the first content file to the first client consumption device over the first N2C connection. The content file (or generally a content item or object) may be any type of format of digital content, including, for example, electronic texts (e.g., eBooks, electronic magazines, digital newspapers, etc.), digital audio (e.g., music, audible books, etc.), digital video (e.g., movies, television, short clips, etc.), images (e.g., art, photographs, etc.), or multi-media content. The client consumption devices may include any type of content rendering devices such as electronic book readers, portable digital assistants, mobile phones, laptop computers, portable media players, tablet computers, cameras, video cameras, netbooks, notebooks, desktop computers, gaming consoles, DVD players, media centers, and the like.

The embodiments of the mesh network devices may be used to deliver content, such as video, music, literature, or the like, to users who do not have access to broadband Internet connections because the mesh network devices may be deployed in an environment of limited connectivity to broadband Internet infrastructure. In some of the embodiments described herein, the mesh network architecture does not include “gateway” nodes that are capable of forwarding broadband mesh traffic to the Internet. The mesh network architecture may include a limited number of point-of-presence (POP) devices (nodes) that do have access to the Internet, but the majority of mesh network devices is capable of forwarding broadband mesh traffic between the mesh network devices for delivering content to client consumption devices that would otherwise not have broadband connections to the Internet. Alternatively, instead of POP devices having access to broadband Internet infrastructure, the POP device is coupled to storage devices that store the available content for the WMN. The WMN may be self-contained in the sense that content lives in, travels through, and is consumed by nodes in the mesh network. In some embodiments, the mesh network architecture includes a large number of mesh nodes, called Meshbox nodes. From a hardware perspective, the Meshbox node functions much like an enterprise-class router with the added capability of supporting P2P connections to form a network backbone of the WMN. From a software perspective, the Meshbox nodes provide much of the capability of a standard content distribution network (CDN), but in a localized manner. The WMN can be deployed in a geographical area in which broadband Internet is limited. The WMN can scale to support a geographic area based on the number of mesh network devices, and the corresponding distances for successful communications over WLAN channels by those mesh network devices.

Although various embodiments herein are directed to content delivery, such as for the Amazon Instant Video (AIV) service, the WMNs, and corresponding mesh network devices, can be used as a platform suitable for delivering high bandwidth content in any application where low latency is not critical or access patterns are predictable. The embodiments described herein are compatible with existing content delivery technologies, and may leverage architectural solutions, such as CDN services like the Amazon AWS CloudFront service. Amazon CloudFront CDN is a global CDN service that integrates with other Amazon Web services products to distribute content to end users with low latency and high data transfer speeds. The embodiments described herein can be an extension to this global CDN, but in environments where there is limited broadband Internet infrastructure. The embodiments described herein may provide users in these environments with a content delivery experience equivalent to what the users would receive on a traditional broadband Internet connection. The embodiments described herein may be used to optimize deployment for traffic types (e.g. streaming video) that are increasingly becoming a significant percentage of broadband traffic and taxing existing infrastructure in a way that is not sustainable.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 1-3</figref> are generally directed to network hardware devices, organized in a wireless mesh network, for content distribution to client consumption devices in environments of limited connectivity to broadband internet infrastructure. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 4-7</figref> are generally directed to embodiments of antenna switching circuitry of a mesh network device. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 8-17</figref> are generally directed to embodiments of antenna structures and reflective chambers of a multi-radio, multi-channel (MRMC) mesh network device.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> is a network diagram of network hardware devices <b>102</b>-<b>110</b>, organized in a wireless mesh network (WMN) <b>100</b>, for content distribution to client devices in an environment of limited connectivity to broadband Internet infrastructure according to one embodiment. The WMN <b>100</b> includes multiple network hardware devices <b>102</b>-<b>110</b> that connect together to transfer digital content through the WMN <b>100</b> to be delivered to one or more client consumption devices connected to the WMN <b>100</b>. In the depicted embodiment, the WMN <b>100</b> includes a miniature point-of-presence (mini-POP) device <b>102</b> (also referred to as mini-POP device), having at least one of a first wired connection to an attached storage device <b>103</b> or a point-to-point wireless connection <b>105</b> to a CDN device <b>107</b> (server of a CDN or a CDN node) of an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The CDN device <b>107</b> may be a POP device (also referred to as a POP device), an edge server, a content server device or another device of the CDN. The mini-POP device <b>102</b> may be similar to POP devices of a CDN in operation. However, the mini-POP device <b>102</b> is called a miniature to differentiate it from a POP device of a CDN given the nature of the mini-POP device <b>102</b> being a single ingress point to the WMN <b>100</b>; whereas, the POP device of a CDN may be one of many in the CDN.

The point-to-point wireless connection <b>105</b> may be established over a point-to-point wireless link <b>115</b> between the mini-POP device <b>102</b> and the CDN device <b>107</b>. Alternatively, the point-to-point wireless connection <b>105</b> may be established over a directional microwave link between the mini-POP device <b>102</b> and the CDN device <b>107</b>. In other embodiments, the mini-POP device <b>102</b> is a single ingress node of the WMN <b>100</b> for the content files stored in the WMN <b>100</b>. Meaning the mini-POP <b>102</b> may be the only node in the WMN <b>100</b> having access to the attached storage or a communication channel to retrieve content files stored outside of the WMN <b>100</b>. In other embodiments, multiple mini-POP devices may be deployed in the WMN <b>100</b>, but the number of mini-POP devices should be much smaller than a total number of network hardware devices in the WMN <b>100</b>. Although a point-to-point wireless connection can be used, in other embodiments, other communication channels may be used. For example, a microwave communication channel may be used to exchange data. Other long distance communication channels may be used, such as a fiber-optic link, satellite link, cellular link, or the like. The network hardware devices of the WMN <b>100</b> may not have direct access to the mini-POP device <b>102</b>, but can use one or more intervening nodes to get content from the mini-POP device. The intervening nodes may also cache content that can be accessed by other nodes. The network hardware devices may also determine a shortest possible route between the requesting node and a node where a particular content file is stored.

The CDN device <b>107</b> may be located at a datacenter <b>119</b> and may be connected to the Internet <b>117</b>. The CDN device <b>107</b> may be one of many devices in the global CDN and may implement the Amazon CloudFront technology. The CDN device <b>107</b> and the datacenter <b>119</b> may be co-located with the equipment of the point-to-point wireless link <b>155</b>. The point-to-point wireless connection <b>105</b> can be considered a broadband connection for the WMN <b>100</b>. In some cases, the mini-POP device <b>102</b> does not have an Internet connection via the point-to-point wireless connection <b>105</b> and the content is stored only in the attached storage device <b>103</b> for a self-contained WMN <b>100</b>.

The WMN <b>100</b> also includes multiple mesh nodes <b>104</b>-<b>110</b> (also referred to herein as meshbox nodes and network hardware devices). The mesh nodes <b>104</b>-<b>110</b> may establish multiple P2P wireless connections <b>109</b> between mesh nodes <b>104</b>-<b>110</b> to form a network backbone. It should be noted that only some of the possible P2P wireless connections <b>109</b> are shown between the mesh nodes <b>104</b>-<b>110</b> in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>. In particular, a first mesh node <b>104</b> is wirelessly coupled to the mini-POP device <b>102</b> via a first P2P wireless connection <b>109</b>, as well as being wirelessly coupled to a second mesh node <b>106</b> via a second P2P wireless connection <b>109</b> and a third mesh node <b>108</b> via a third P2P wireless connection. The mesh nodes <b>104</b>-<b>110</b> (and the mini-POP device <b>102</b>) are MRMC mesh network devices. As described herein, the mesh nodes <b>104</b>-<b>110</b> do not necessarily have reliable access to the CDN device <b>107</b>. The mesh nodes <b>104</b>-<b>110</b> (and the mini-POP device <b>102</b>) wirelessly communicate with other nodes via the network backbone via a first set of WLAN channels reserved for inter-node communications. The mesh nodes <b>102</b>-<b>110</b> communicate data with one another via the first set of WLAN channels at a first frequency of approximately 5 GHz (e.g., 5 GHz band of the Wi-Fi® network technologies).

Each of the mesh nodes <b>104</b>-<b>110</b> (and the mini-POP device <b>102</b>) also includes multiple node-to-client (N2C) wireless connections <b>111</b> to wirelessly communicate with one or more client consumption devices via a second set of WLAN channels reserved for serving content files to client consumption devices connected to the WMN <b>100</b>. In particular, the second mesh node <b>106</b> is wirelessly coupled to a first client consumption device <b>112</b> (AIV client) via a first N2C wireless connection <b>111</b>, a second client consumption device <b>114</b> (AIV client) via a second N2C wireless connection <b>111</b>, and a third client consumption device <b>116</b> (e.g., the Fire TV device) via a third N2C wireless connection <b>111</b>. The second node <b>106</b> wirelessly communicates with the client consumption devices via the second set of WLAN channels at a second frequency of approximately 2.4 GHz (e.g., 2.4 GHz band of the Wi-Fi® network technologies).

Each of the mesh nodes <b>104</b>-<b>110</b> (and the mini-POP device <b>102</b>) also includes a cellular connection <b>113</b> to wirelessly communicate control data between the respective node and a second device <b>118</b> hosting a mesh network control service described below. The cellular connection <b>113</b> may be a low bandwidth, high availability connection to the Internet <b>117</b> provided by a cellular network. The cellular connection <b>113</b> may have a lower bandwidth than the point-to-point wireless connection <b>105</b>. There may be many uses for this connection including, health monitoring of the mesh nodes, collecting network statistics of the mesh nodes, configuring the mesh nodes, and providing client access to other services. In particular, the mesh node <b>110</b> connects to a cellular network <b>121</b> via the cellular connection <b>113</b>. The cellular network <b>121</b> is coupled to the second device <b>118</b> via the Internet <b>117</b>. The second device <b>118</b> may be one of a collection of devices organized as a cloud computing system that that hosts one or more services <b>120</b>. The services <b>120</b> may include cloud services to control setup of the mesh nodes, the content delivery service (e.g., AIV origin), as well as other cloud services. The mesh network control service can be one or more cloud services. The cloud services can include a metric collector service, a health and status service, a link selection service, a channel selection service, a content request aggregation service, or the like. There may be APIs for each of these services. Although this cellular connection may provide access to the Internet <b>117</b>, the amount of traffic that goes through this connection should be minimized, since it may be a relatively costly link. This cellular connection <b>113</b> may be used to communicate various control data to configure the mesh network for content delivery. In addition, the cellular connection <b>113</b> can provide a global view of the state of the WMN <b>100</b> remotely. Also, the cellular connection <b>113</b> may aid in the debugging and optimization of the WMN <b>100</b>. In other embodiments, other low bandwidth services may also be offered through this link (e.g. email, shopping on Amazon.com, or the like).

Although only four mesh nodes <b>104</b>-<b>110</b> are illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, the WMN <b>100</b> can use many mesh nodes, wireless connected together in a mesh network, to move content through the WMN <b>100</b>. The 5 GHz WLAN channels are reserved for inter-node communications (i.e., the network backbone). Theoretically, there is no limit to the number of links a given Meshbox node can have to its neighbor nodes. However, practical considerations, including memory, routing complexity, physical radio resources, and link bandwidth requirements, may place a limit on the number of links maintained to neighboring mesh nodes. Meshbox nodes may function as traditional access points (APs) for devices running AIV client software. The 2.4 GHz WLAN channels are reserved for serving client consumption devices. The 2.4 GHz band may be chosen for serving clients because there is a wider device adoption and support for this band. Additionally, the bandwidth requirements for serving client consumption devices will be lower than that of the network backbone. The number of clients that each Meshbox node can support depends on a number of factors including memory, bandwidth requirements of the client, incoming bandwidth that the Meshbox node can support, and the like. For example, the Meshbox nodes provide coverage to users who subscribe to the content delivery service and consume that service through an AIV client on the client consumption devices (e.g., a mobile phone, a set top box, a tablet, or the like). It should be noted that there is a 1-to-many relationship between Meshbox nodes and households (not just between nodes and clients). This means the service can be provided without necessarily requiring a customer to have a Meshbox node located in their house, as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>. As illustrated, the second mesh node <b>106</b> services two client consumption devices <b>112</b>, <b>114</b> (e.g., AIV clients) located in a first house, as well as a third client consumption device <b>116</b> (e.g., the Fire TV client) located in a second house. The Meshbox nodes can be located in various structures, and there can be multiple Meshbox nodes in a single structure.

The WMN <b>100</b> may be used to address two main challenges: moving high bandwidth content to users and storing that content in the network itself. The first challenge may be addressed in hardware through the radio links between mesh nodes and the radio links between mesh nodes and client consumption devices, and in software by the routing protocols used to decide where to push traffic and link and channel management used to configure the WMN <b>100</b>. The second challenge may be addressed by borrowing from the existing content distribution strategy employed by the content delivery services (e.g., AIV) using caches of content close to the user. The architecture to support content caching is known as a CDN. An example CDN implementation is the AWS CloudFront service. The AWS CloudFront service may include several point-of-presence (POP) racks that are co-located in datacenters that see a lot of customer traffic (for example an ISP), such as illustrated in datacenter <b>119</b> in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>. A POP rack has server devices to handle incoming client requests and storage devices to cache content for these requests. If the content is present in the POP rack, the content is served to the client consumption device from there. If it is not stored in the POP rack, a cache miss is triggered and the content is fetched from the next level of cache, culminating in the “origin,” which is a central repository for all available content. In contrast, as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, the WMN <b>100</b> includes the mini-POP device <b>102</b> that is designed to handle smaller amounts of traffic than a typical POP rack. Architecturally, the mini-POP device <b>102</b> may be designed as a Meshbox node with storage attached (e.g. external hard disk). The mini-POP device <b>102</b> may function identically to a POP device with the exception of how cache misses are handled. Because of the lack of broadband Internet infrastructure, the mini-POP device <b>102</b> has no traditional Internet connection to the next level of cache. The following describes two different solutions for providing the next level of cache to the mini-POP device <b>102</b>.

In one embodiment, the mini-POP device <b>102</b> is coupled to an existing CDN device <b>107</b> via a directional microwave link or other point-to-point wireless link <b>115</b>. A directional microwave link is a fairly easy way to get a relatively high bandwidth connection between two points. However, line of sight is required which might not be possible with terrain or building constraints. In another embodiment, the mini-POP device <b>102</b> can operate with a human in the loop (HITL) to update the cache contents. HITL implies that a person will be tasked with manually swapping out the hard drives with a hard drives with the updated content or adding the content to the hard drive. This solution may be a relatively high bandwidth but extremely high latency solution and may only be suitable if the use cases allow longer times (e.g., hours) to service a cache miss.

The WMN <b>100</b> may be considered a multi-radio multi-channel (MRMC) mesh network. MRMC mesh networks are an evolution of traditional single radio WMNs and a leading contender for combatting the radio resource contention that has plagued single radio WMNs and prevents them from scaling to any significant size. The WMN <b>100</b> has multiple devices, each with multi-radio multi-channel (MRMC) radios. The multiple radios for P2P connections and N2C connections of the mesh network devices allow the WMN <b>100</b> to be scaled to a significant size, such as 10,000 mesh nodes. For example, unlike the conventional solutions that could not effectively scale, the embodiments described herein can be very large scale, such as a 100×100 grid of nodes with 12-15 hops between nodes to serve content to client consumption devices. The paths to fetch content files may not be a linear path within the mesh network.

The WMN <b>100</b> can provide adequate bandwidth, especially node-to-node bandwidth. For video, content delivery services recommend a minimum of 900 Kbps for standard definition content and 3.5 Mbps for high definition content. The WMN <b>100</b> can provide higher bandwidths than those recommended for standard definition and high definition content. Prior solutions found that for a 10,000-node mesh network covering one square kilometer, the upper bound on inter-node traffic is 221 kbps. The following can impact bandwidth: forwarding traffic, wireless contention (MAC/PHY), and routing protocols.

In some embodiments, the WMN <b>100</b> can be self-contained as described herein. The WMN <b>100</b> may be self-contained in the sense that content resides in, travels through, and is consumed by nodes in the mesh network without requiring the content to be fetched outside of the WMN <b>100</b>. In other embodiments, the WMN <b>100</b> can have mechanisms for content injection and distribution. One or more of the services <b>120</b> can manage the setup of content injection and distribution. These services (e.g., labeled mesh network control service) can be hosted by as cloud services, such as on one or more content delivery service devices. These mechanisms can be used for injecting content into the network as new content is created or as user viewing preferences change. Although these injection mechanisms may not inject the content in real time, the content can be injected into the WMN <b>100</b> via the point-to-point wireless connection <b>105</b> or the HITL process at the mini-POP device <b>102</b>. Availability and impact on cost in terms of storage may be relevant factors in determining which content is to be injected into the WMN <b>100</b> and which content is to remain in the WMN <b>100</b>. A challenge for traditional mesh network architectures is that this content is high bandwidth (in the case of video) and so the gateway nodes that connect the mesh to the larger Internet must be also be high bandwidth. However, taking a closer look at the use case reveals that this content, although high bandwidth, does not need to be low latency. The embodiments of the WMN <b>100</b> described herein can provide distribution of content that is high bandwidth, but in a manner that does not need low latency.

In some embodiments, prior to consumption by a node having an AIV client itself or being wirelessly connected to an AIV client executing on a client consumption device, the content may be pulled close to that node. This may involve either predicting when content will be consumed to proactively move it closer (referred to as caching) or always having it close (referred to as replication). Content replication is conceptually straightforward, but may impact storage requirements and requires apriori knowledge on the popularity of given titles.

Another consideration is where and how to store content in the WMN <b>100</b>. The WMN <b>100</b> can provide some fault tolerance so that a single mesh node becoming unavailable for failure or reboot has minimal impact on availability of content to other users. This means that a single mesh node is not the sole provider of a piece of content. The WMN <b>100</b> can use reliability and availability mechanisms and techniques to determine where and how to store content in the WMN <b>100</b>.

The WMN <b>100</b> can be deployed in an unpredictable environment. Radio conditions may not be constant and sudden losses of power may occur. The WMN <b>100</b> is designed to be robust to temporary failures of individual nodes. The WMN <b>100</b> can be designed to identify those failures and adapt to these failures once identified. Additionally, the WMN <b>100</b> can include mechanisms to provide secure storage of the content that resides within the WMN <b>100</b> and prevent unauthorized access to that content.

The cloud services <b>120</b> of the WMN <b>100</b> can include mechanisms to deal with mesh nodes that become unavailable, adding, removing, or modifying existing mesh nodes in the WMN <b>100</b>. The cloud services <b>120</b> may also include mechanisms for remote health and management. For example, there may be a remote health interface, a management interface, or both to access the mesh nodes for this purpose. The cloud services <b>120</b> can also include mechanisms for securing the WMN <b>100</b> and the content that resides in the WMN <b>100</b>. For example, the cloud services <b>120</b> can control device access, DRM, and node authentication.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> is a block diagram of a network hardware device <b>202</b> with five radios operating concurrently in a wireless mesh network <b>200</b> according to one embodiment. The wireless mesh network <b>200</b> includes multiple network hardware devices <b>202</b>-<b>210</b>. The network hardware device <b>202</b> may be considered a mesh router that includes four 5 GHz radios for the network backbone for multiple connections with other mesh routers, i.e., network hardware devices <b>204</b>-<b>210</b>. For example, the network hardware device <b>204</b> may be located to the north of the network hardware device <b>202</b> and connected over a first 5 GHz connection. The network hardware device <b>206</b> may be located to the east of the network hardware device <b>202</b> and connected over a second 5 GHz connection. The network hardware device <b>208</b> may be located to the south of the network hardware device <b>202</b> and connected over a third 5 GHz connection. The network hardware device <b>210</b> may be located to the west of the network hardware device <b>202</b> and connected over a fourth 5 GHz connection. In other embodiments, additional network hardware devices can be connected to other 5 GHz connections of the network hardware device <b>202</b>. It should also be noted that the network hardware devices <b>204</b>-<b>210</b> may also connect to other network hardware devices using its respective radios. It should also be noted that the locations of the network hardware devices <b>20</b>-<b>210</b> can be in other locations that north, south, east, and west. For example, the network hardware devices can be located above or below the mesh network device <b>202</b>, such as on another floor of a building or house.

The network hardware device <b>202</b> also includes at least one 2.4 GHz connection to serve client consumption devices, such as the client consumption device <b>212</b> connected to the network hardware device <b>202</b>. The network hardware device <b>202</b> may operate as a mesh router that has five radios operating concurrently or simultaneously to transfer mesh network traffic, as well as service connected client consumption devices. This may require that the 5GLL and 5GLH to be operating simultaneously and the 5GHL and 5GHH to be operating simultaneously, as described in more detail below. It should be noted that although the depicted embodiment illustrates and describes five mesh nodes, in other embodiments, more than five mesh nodes may be used in the WMN. It should be noted that <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> is a simplification of neighboring mesh network devices for a given mesh network device. The deployment of forty or more mesh network device may actually be located at various directions than simply north, south, east, and west as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref>. Also, it should be noted that here are a limited number of communication channels available to communicate with neighboring mesh nodes in the particular wireless technology, such as the Wi-Fi® 5 GHz band. The embodiments of the mesh network devices, such as the directional antennas, can help with isolation between neighboring antennas that cannot be separated physically given the limited size the mesh network device.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3A</figref> is a block diagram of a mesh node <b>300</b> with multiple radios according to one embodiment. The mesh node <b>300</b> includes a first 5 GHz radio <b>302</b>, a second 5 GHz radio <b>304</b>, a third 5 GHz radio <b>306</b>, a fourth 5 GHz radio <b>308</b>, a 2.4 GHz radio <b>310</b>, and a cellular radio <b>312</b>. The first 5 GHz radio <b>302</b> creates a first P2P wireless connection <b>303</b> between the mesh node <b>300</b> and another mesh node (not illustrated) in a WMN. The second 5 GHz radio <b>304</b> creates a second P2P wireless connection <b>305</b> between the mesh node <b>300</b> and another mesh node (not illustrated) in the WMN. The third 5 GHz radio <b>306</b> creates a third P2P wireless connection <b>307</b> between the mesh node <b>300</b> and another mesh node (not illustrated) in the WMN. The fourth 5 GHz radio <b>308</b> creates a fourth P2P wireless connection <b>309</b> between the mesh node <b>300</b> and another mesh node (not illustrated) in the WMN. The 2.4 GHz radio <b>310</b> creates a N2C wireless connection <b>311</b> between the mesh node <b>300</b> and a client consumption device (not illustrated) in the WMN. The cellular radio <b>312</b> creates a cellular connection between the mesh node <b>300</b> and a device in a cellular network (not illustrated). In other embodiments, more than one 2.4 GHz radios may be used for more N2C wireless connections. Alternatively, different number of 5 GHz radios may be used for more or less P2P wireless connections with other mesh nodes. In other embodiments, multiple cellular radios may be used to create multiple cellular connections.

In another embodiment, a system of devices can be organized in a WMN. The system may include a single ingress node for ingress of content files into the wireless mesh network. In one embodiment, the single ingress node is a mini-POP device that has attached storage device(s). The single ingress node may optionally include a point-to-point wireless connection, such as a microwave communication channel to a node of the CDN. The single ingress node may include a point-to-point wireless link to the Internet (e.g., a server device of the CDN) to access content files over the Internet. Alternatively to, or in addition to the point-to-point wireless link, the single ingress node may include a wired connection to a storage device to access the content files stored on the storage device. Multiple network hardware devices are wirelessly connected through a network backbone formed by multiple P2P wireless connections. These P2P wireless connections are wireless connections between different pairs of the network hardware devices. The P2P wireless connections may be a first set of WLAN connections that operate at a first frequency of approximately 5.0 GHz. The multiple network hardware devices may be wirelessly connected to one or more client consumption devices by one or more N2C wireless connections. Also, the multiple network hardware devices may be wirelessly connected to a mesh network control services (MNCS) device by cellular connections. Each network hardware device includes a cellular connection to a MNCS service hosted by a cloud computing system. The cellular connections may have lower bandwidths than the point-to-point wireless link.

The system includes a first network hardware device wirelessly connected to a first client consumption device by a first node-to-client (N2C) wireless connection and a second network hardware device wirelessly connected to the single ingress node. The first network hardware device can wirelessly connect to a first client consumption device over a first N2C connection. The N2C wireless connection may be one of a second set of one or more WLAN connections that operate at a second frequency of approximately 2.4 GHz. During operation, the first network hardware device may receive a first request for a first content file from the first client consumption device over the first N2C connection. The first network device sends a second request for the first content file to the second network hardware device through the network backbone via a first set of zero or more intervening network hardware devices between the first network hardware device and the second network hardware device. The first network device receives the first content file from the first network hardware device through the network backbone via the first set of zero or more intervening network hardware devices and sends the first content file to the first client consumption device over the first N2C connection. In a further embodiment, the first network hardware device includes another radio to wirelessly connect to a MNCS device by a cellular connection to exchange control data.

In a further embodiment, the first network hardware device is further to receive a third request for a second content file from a second client consumption device connected to the first network hardware device over a second N2C connection between the first network hardware device and the second client consumption device. The first network hardware device sends a fourth request for the second content file stored at a third network hardware device through the network backbone via a second set of zero or more intervening network hardware devices between the first network hardware device and the third network hardware device. The first network hardware device receives the second content file from the third network hardware device through the network backbone via the second set of zero or more intervening network hardware devices. The first network hardware device sends the second content file to the second client consumption device over the second N2C connection.

In one embodiment, the zero or more intervening network hardware devices of the first set are not the same as the zero or more intervening network hardware devices of the second set. In some embodiments, a path between the first network hardware device and the second network hardware device could include zero or more hops of intervening network hardware devices. In some cases, the path may include up to 12-15 hops within a mesh network of 100×100 network hardware devices deployed in the WMN. In some embodiments, a number of network hardware devices in the WMN is greater than fifty. The WMN may include hundreds, thousands, and even tens of thousands of network hardware devices.

In a further embodiment, the first network hardware device receive the fourth request for the second content file from a fourth network hardware device through the network backbone via a third set of zero or more intervening network hardware devices between the first network hardware device and the fourth network hardware device. The first network hardware device sends the second content file to the fourth network hardware device through the network backbone via the third set of zero or more intervening network hardware devices.

In some embodiments, the first network hardware device determines whether the first content file is stored in memory of the first network hardware device. The memory of the first network hardware device may be volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or a combination of both. When the first content file is not stored in the memory or the storage of the first network hardware device, the first network hardware device generates and sends the second request to a first network hardware device of the first set. Intervening network hardware devices can make similar determinations to locate the first content file in the WMN. In the event that the first content file is not stored in the second network hardware device or any intervening nodes, the second network hardware device can request the first content file from the mini-POP device, as described herein. When the mini-POP device does not store the first content file, the mini-POP can take action to obtain the first content file, such as requesting the first content file from a CDN over a point-to-point link. Alternatively, the human in the loop process can be initiated as described herein.

In a further embodiment, the second network hardware device receives the second request for the first content file and retrieves the first content file from the single ingress node when the first content file is not previously stored at the second network hardware device. The second network hardware device sends a response to the second request with the first content file retrieved from the single ingress node. The second network hardware device may store a copy of the first content file in memory of the second network hardware device for a time period.

In another embodiment, the single ingress node receives a request for a content file from one of the multiple network hardware devices over a P2P wireless connection. The request originates from a requesting consumption device. It should be noted that a video client can be installed on the client consumption device, on the network hardware device, or both. The single ingress node determines whether the content file is stored in a storage device coupled to the single ingress node. The single ingress node generates and sends a first notification to the requesting one of the network hardware devices over the P2P wireless connection when the content file is not stored in the storage device. The first notification includes information to indicate an estimated delay for the content file to be available for delivery. The single ingress node generates and sends a second notification to an operator of the first network hardware device. The second notification includes information to indicate that the content file has been requested by the requesting client consumption device. In this embodiment, the notifications can be pushed to the appropriate recipients. In another embodiment, an operator can request which content files had been requested in the WMN and not serviced. This can initiate the ingress of the content file into the WMN, even if with a longer delay.

In some embodiments, the mini-POP device is coupled to a storage device to store the content files as original content files for the wireless mesh network. A point-to-point wireless link may be established between the mini-POP device and a CDN device. In another embodiment, the mini-POP device is coupled to a node of a content delivery network (CDN) via a microwave communication channel.

In a further embodiment, the second network hardware device can wirelessly connect to a third network hardware device over a second P2P connection. During operation, the third network hardware device may receive a third request for a second content file from a second client consumption device over a second N2C connection between the third network hardware device and the second client consumption device. The third network hardware device sends a fourth request for the second content file to the second network hardware device over the second P2P connection. The third network hardware device receives the second content file from the second network hardware device over the second P2P connection and sends the second content file to the second client consumption device over the second N2C connection.

In another embodiment, the first network hardware device receives the fourth request for the second content file from the third network hardware device. The second network hardware device determines whether the second content file is stored in memory of the second network hardware device. The second network hardware device sends a fifth request to the first network hardware device over the first P2P connection and receive the second content file over the first P2P connection from the first network hardware device when the second content file is not stored in the memory of the second network hardware device. The second network hardware device sends the second content file to the third network hardware device over the second P2P connection.

In another embodiment, the second network hardware device may wirelessly connect to a third network hardware device over a second P2P connection. During operation, the third network hardware device may receive a third request for the first content file from a second client consumption device over a second N2C connection between the third network hardware device and the second client consumption device. The third network hardware device sends a fourth request for the first content file to the second network hardware device over the second P2P connection. The third network hardware device receives the first content file from the first network hardware device over the second P2P connection and sends the first content file to the second client consumption device over the second N2C connection.

In another embodiment, the first network hardware device receives a request for a content file from one of the network hardware devices over one of the P2P wireless connections. The request is from a requesting client consumption device connected to one of the multiple network hardware devices. The first network hardware device determines whether the content file is stored in the storage device. The first network hardware device generates and sends a first notification to the one of the network hardware devices over the one of the P2P wireless connections when the content file is not stored in the storage device. The first notification may include information to indicate an estimated delay for the content file to be available for delivery. The first network hardware device generates and sends a second notification to an operator of the first network hardware device. The second notification may include information to indicate that the content file has been requested by the requesting client consumption device.

In a further embodiment, the P2P wireless connections are WLAN connections that operate in a first frequency range and the N2C connections are WLAN connections that operate in a second frequency range. In another embodiment, the P2P wireless connections operate at a first frequency of approximately 5.0 GHz and the N2C connections operate at a second frequency of approximately 2.4 GHz.

In some embodiments, at least one of the network hardware devices is a mini-POP) node and a point-to-point wireless link is established between the mini-POP device and a POP device of an ISP. In one embodiment, the point-to-point wireless link is a microwave link (e.g., directional microwave link) between the mini-POP device and the CDN device. In another embodiment, the mini-POP device stores an index of the content files store in attached storage devices.

In some embodiments, a mesh network architecture includes multiple mesh nodes organized in a self-contained mesh network. The self-contained mesh network may be self-contained in the sense that content resides in, travels through, and is consumed by nodes in the mesh network without requiring the content to be fetched outside of the mesh network. Each of the mesh nodes includes a first radio for inter-node communications with the other nodes on multiple P2P channels, a second radio for communications with client consumption devices on N2C channels. The mesh network architecture also includes a mini-POP device including a radio for inter-connection communications with at least one of the mesh nodes on a P2P channel. The mesh network architecture also includes a storage device coupled to the mini-POP, the storage device to store content files for distribution to a requesting client consumption device. The mini-POP device may be the only ingress point for content files for the self-contained mesh network. The storage devices of the mini-POP device may be internal drives, external drives, or both. During operation, a first node of the mesh nodes includes a first radio to wirelessly connect to a requesting client consumption device via a first N2C channel to receive a first request for a content file directly from the requesting client consumption device via a first N2C channel between the first node and the requesting client consumption device <b>1</b>. A second radio of the first node sends a second request for the content file to a second node via a first set of zero or more intervening nodes between the first node and the second node to locate the content file within the self-contained mesh network. The second radio receives the content file from the second node in response to the request. The first radio sends the content file to the requesting client consumption device via the first N2C channel. The first node determines a location of the content file within the self-contained mesh network and sends a second request for the content file via a second P2P channel to at least one of the mini-POP or a second node, the second request to initiate delivery of the content file to the requesting client consumption device over a second path between the location of the content file and the requesting client consumption device.

In another embodiment, the first node stores a copy of the content file in a storage device at the first node. The first node receives a third request for the content file directly from a second client consumption device via a second N2C channel between the first node and the second client consumption device. The first node sends the copy of the content file to the second client consumption device via the second N2C channel in response to the third request.

In a further embodiment, the first node receives the content file via the second P2P channel in response to the second request and sends the content file to the requesting client consumption device via the first N2C channel or the first P2P channel in response to the first request. In some embodiments, the second path and the first path are the same.

In a further embodiment, the first node includes a third radio to communicate control data over a cellular connection between the first node and a mesh network control service (MNCS) device.

In one embodiment, the second radio can operate with 2×2 MIMO with maximum 40 MHz aggregation. This may result in per radio throughput of not more than 300 Mbps in 5 GHz and 150 Mbps in 2.4 GHz. Even with 5 radios (4×5 GHz and 1×2.4), the peak physical layer throughput will not need to be more than 1.4 Gbps. A scaling factor of 1.4 may be used to arrive at a CPU frequency requirement. This implies the total processing clock speed in the CPU should not be less than 1.96 GHz (1.4×1.4=1.96 GHz). For example, the Indian ISM band has a requirement of 23 dBm EIRP. Since the WMN <b>100</b> needs to function under conditions where the mesh routers communicate with each other between homes, the propagation loss through multiple walls and over distances between homes, the link budget does not support sensitivity requirements for 802.11ac data rates. The per-node throughput may be limited to 300 Mbps per link—peak PHY rate.

In another embodiment, a system includes a POP device having access to content files via at least one of data storage coupled to the POP device or a first point-to-point connection to a first device of an ISP. The system also includes multiple mesh nodes, organized in a WMN, and at least one of the mesh nodes is wirelessly coupled to the POP device. The WMN is a mesh topology in which the multiple mesh nodes cooperate in distribution of the content files to client consumption devices that do not have access to reliable access to the server device of the CDN or in an environment of limited connectivity to broadband infrastructure. A first node of the multiple mesh nodes is a multi-radio, multi-channel (MRMC) device that includes multiple P2P connections to form parts of a network backbone in which the first node wireless connects to other mesh nodes via a first set of WLAN channels reserved for inter-node communication. The first node also includes one or more N2C connections to wireless connect to one or more of the client consumption devices connected to the WMN via a second set of WLAN channels reserved for serving the content files to the client consumption devices. The first node may also include a cellular connection to wireless connect to a second device of the CDN. The second device may be part of a cloud computing system and may host a mesh network control service as described herein. It should be noted that the first point-to-point connection is higher bandwidth than the cellular connection.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3B</figref> is a network diagram of a WMN <b>300</b> in which multiple content files are stored at different locations according to one embodiment. As described herein, the WMN <b>300</b> described herein can operate like a CDN in storing and caching digital content for delivery of the content to client devices. As depicted, the WMN <b>300</b> includes a mini-POP device <b>302</b> and multiple mesh nodes <b>304</b>. The mini-POP device <b>302</b> is coupled to one or more data storage devices <b>306</b>. The storage device(s) <b>306</b> store copies of multiple content files, including a first content file <b>312</b>, a second content file <b>314</b>, and an Nth content file <b>316</b>, where N is some positive integer value. These content files <b>312</b>, <b>314</b>, <b>316</b> can be considered the original content files in the WMN <b>300</b>. These content files <b>312</b>, <b>314</b>, <b>316</b> can be different types of content as well, such as video, audio, literature, or the like. For example, the first content file <b>312</b> may be a movie, including video and audio content, and the second content file <b>314</b> may be an e-book. Copies of the content files can be stored at various locations in the WMN <b>300</b>. For example, the mesh node <b>304</b>(<i>a</i>) stores a copy of the first content file <b>312</b> and a copy of the second content file <b>314</b>. The mesh node <b>304</b>(<i>a</i>) may store other content files as well. The mesh node <b>304</b>(<i>b</i>) can request the second content file <b>314</b> from any one of the mesh nodes <b>304</b> storing the second content file <b>314</b>, such as the mesh node <b>304</b>(<i>c</i>) or the mesh node <b>304</b>(<i>b</i>). In the event that none of the mesh nodes <b>304</b> have cached the second content file <b>314</b>, the mesh node <b>304</b>(<i>b</i>) can request the second content file <b>314</b> from the mini-POP device <b>302</b> via one or more of the mesh nodes <b>304</b>. Similarly, the mesh node <b>304</b>(<i>c</i>) can request the first content file <b>312</b> from the mesh nodes that have cached the first content file <b>312</b>, such as the mesh node <b>304</b>(<i>a</i>). In some cases, the WMN <b>300</b> may include hundreds or thousands of mesh nodes <b>304</b> that can store copies of different ones of the content files <b>312</b>-<b>316</b>. The caching of the content files within the WMN <b>300</b> can be done according to caching schemes, such as those used in CDNs.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> is a block diagram of a mesh network device <b>400</b> according to one embodiment. The mesh network device <b>400</b> may be one of many mesh network devices organized in a WMN (e.g., WMN <b>100</b>). The mesh network device <b>400</b> is one of the nodes in a mesh topology in which the mesh network device <b>400</b> cooperates with other mesh network devices in distribution of content files to client consumption devices in an environment of limited connectivity to broadband Internet infrastructure, as described herein. That is, the client consumption devices do not have Internet connectivity. The mesh network device <b>400</b> may be the mini-POP device <b>102</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>. Alternatively, the mesh network device <b>400</b> may be any one of the mesh network devices <b>104</b>-<b>110</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>. In another embodiment, the mesh network device <b>400</b> is any one of the network hardware devices <b>202</b>-<b>210</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref>. In another embodiment, the mesh network device <b>400</b> is the mesh node <b>300</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3A</figref>. In another embodiment, the mesh network device <b>400</b> is the mesh node <b>304</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3B</figref>.

The mesh network device <b>400</b> includes a system on chip (SoC) <b>402</b> to process data signals in connection with communicating with other mesh network devices and client consumption devices in the WMN. The SoC <b>402</b> includes a processing element (e.g., a processor core, a central processing unit, or multiple cores) that processes the data signals and controls the radios to communicate with other devices in the WMN. In one embodiment, the SoC <b>402</b> is a dual core SoC, such as the ARM A15 1.5 GHz with hardware network acceleration. The SoC <b>402</b> may include memory and storage, such as 2 GB DDR RAM and 64 GB eMMC coupled to the SoC <b>402</b> via external HDD interfaces (e.g., SATA, USB3, or the like). The SoC <b>402</b> may include multiple RF interfaces, such as a first interface to the first RF radio <b>404</b> (e.g., HSCI interface for cellular radio (3G)), a second interface to the WLAN 2.4 GHz radio <b>406</b>, a third interface to the WLAN 2.4 GHz radio <b>408</b>, and multiple interfaces to the WLAN 5 GHz radios, such as on a PCIe bus. Alternatively, the SoC <b>402</b> includes as many digital interfaces for as many radios there are in the mesh network device <b>400</b>. In one embodiment, the SoC <b>402</b> is the IPQ8064 Qualcomm SoC or the IPQ4029 Qualcomm SoC. Alternatively, other types of SoCs may be used, such as the Annapurna SoC, or the like. Alternatively, the mesh network device <b>400</b> may include an application processor that is not necessarily considered to be a SoC.

The mesh network device <b>400</b> may also include memory and storage. For example, the mesh network device <b>400</b> may include SSD 64 GB 428, 8 GB Flash 430, and 2 GB 432. The memory and storage may be coupled to the SoC <b>402</b> via one or more interfaces, such as USB 3.0, SATA, or SD interfaces. The mesh network device <b>400</b> may also include a single Ethernet port <b>444</b> that is an ingress port for Internet Protocol (IP) connection. The Ethernet port <b>444</b> is connected to the Ethernet PHY <b>442</b>, which is connected to the SoC <b>402</b>. The Ethernet port <b>444</b> can be used to service the mesh network device <b>400</b>. Although the Ethernet port <b>444</b> could provide wired connections to client devices, the primary purpose of the Ethernet port <b>444</b> is not to connect to client devices, since the 2.4 GHz connections are used to connect to clients in the WMN. The mesh network device <b>400</b> may also include one or more debug ports <b>446</b>, which are coupled to the SoC <b>402</b>. The memory and storage may be used to cache content, as well as store software, firmware or other data for the mesh network device <b>400</b>.

The mesh network device <b>400</b> may also include a power management and charging system <b>434</b>. The power management and charging system <b>434</b> can be connected to a power supply <b>436</b> (e.g., a 240V outlet, a 120V outlet, or the like). The power management and charging system <b>434</b> can also connect to a battery <b>438</b>. The battery <b>438</b> can provide power in the event of power loss. The power management and charging system <b>434</b> can be configured to send a SOS message on power outage and backup system state. For example, the WLAN radios can be powered down, but the cellular radio can be powered by the battery <b>438</b> to send the SOS message. The battery <b>438</b> can provide limited operations by the mesh network device <b>400</b>, such as for 10 minutes before the entire system is completely powered down. In some cases, power outage will likely affect a geographic area in which the mesh network device <b>400</b> is deployed (e.g., power outage that is a neighborhood wide phenomenon). The best option may be to power down the mesh network device <b>400</b> and let the cloud service (e.g., back end service) know of the outage in the WMN. The power management and charging system <b>434</b> may provide a 15V power supply up to 21 watts to the SoC <b>402</b>. Alternatively, the mesh network device <b>400</b> may include more or less components to operate the multiple antennas as described herein.

The mesh network device <b>400</b> includes a first radio frequency (RF) radio <b>404</b> coupled between the SoC <b>402</b> and a cellular antenna <b>418</b>. The first RF radio <b>404</b> supports cellular connectivity using the cellular antenna <b>418</b>. In one embodiment, the first RF radio <b>404</b> is a wireless wide area network (WWAN) radio and the cellular antenna <b>418</b> is a WWAN antenna. WWAN is a form of wireless network that is larger in size than a WLAN and uses different wireless technologies. The wireless network can deliver date in the form of telephone calls, web pages, texts, messages, streaming content, or the like. The WWAN radio may use mobile telecommunication cellular network technologies, such as LTE, WiMAX (also called wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN), UTMS, CDMA2000, GSM, cellular digital packet data (CDPD), Mobitex, or the like, to transfer data.

In one embodiment, the cellular antenna <b>418</b> may include a structure that includes a primary WAN antenna and a secondary WAN antenna. The first RF radio <b>404</b> may be a wireless wide area network (WWAN) radio and the cellular antenna <b>418</b> is a WWAN antenna. The first RF radio <b>404</b> may include a modem to cause the primary WAN antenna, the secondary WAN antenna, or both to radiate electromagnetic energy in the 900 MHz band and 1800 MHz band for the 2G specification, radiate electromagnetic energy in the B1 band and the B8 band for the 3G specification, and radiate electromagnetic energy for the B40 band. The modem may support Cat3 band, 40 TD-LTE, UMTS: Band 1, Band 8, and GSM: 900/1800. The modem may or may not support CDMA. The cellular modem may be used for diagnostics, network management, down time media caching, meta data download, or the like. Alternatively, the first RF radio <b>404</b> may support other bands, as well as other cellular technologies. The mesh network device <b>400</b> may include a GPS antenna and corresponding GPS radio to track the location of the mesh network device <b>400</b>, such as moves between homes. However, the mesh network device <b>400</b> is intended to be located inside a structure, the GPS antenna and radio may not be used in some embodiments.

The mesh network device <b>400</b> includes a first set of wireless local area network (WLAN) radios <b>406</b>, <b>408</b> coupled between the SoC <b>402</b> and dual-band omni-directional antennas <b>420</b>. A first WLAN radio <b>406</b> may support WLAN connectivity in a first frequency range using one of the dual-band omni-directional antennas <b>420</b>. A second WLAN radio <b>408</b> may support WLAN connectivity in a second frequency range using one of the dual-band omni-directional antennas <b>420</b>. The dual-band omni-directional antennas <b>420</b> may be two omnidirectional antennas for 2.4 GHz. The directional antennas <b>422</b> may be eight sector directional antennas for 5 GHz with two antennas at orthogonal polarizations (horizontal/vertical) in each sector. These can be setup with 45 degree 3 dB beam width with 11 dB antenna gain. The dual-band omni-directional antennas <b>420</b> and the directional antennas <b>422</b> can be implemented as a fully switchable antenna architecture controlled by micro controller <b>426</b>. For example, each 5 GHz radio can choose any 2 sectors (for 2 2×2 MU-MIMO streams).

The mesh network device <b>400</b> includes a second set of WLAN radios <b>410</b>-<b>416</b> coupled between the SoC <b>402</b> and antenna switching circuitry <b>424</b>. The second set of WLAN radios <b>410</b>-<b>416</b> support WLAN connectivity in the second frequency range using a set of directional antennas <b>422</b>. The second set of WLAN radios <b>410</b>-<b>416</b> is operable to communicate with the other mesh network devices of the WMN. The antenna switching circuitry <b>424</b> is coupled to a micro controller <b>426</b>. The micro controller <b>426</b> controls the antenna switching circuitry <b>424</b> to select different combinations of antennas for wireless communications between the mesh network device <b>400</b> and the other mesh network devices, the client consumption devices, or both. For example, the micro controller <b>426</b> can select different combinations of the set of directional antennas <b>422</b>. In one embodiment, the SoC <b>402</b> runs a mesh selection algorithm to decide which communication path to use for any particular communication and instructs, or otherwise commands, the micro controller <b>426</b> to select the appropriate communication path between a selected radio and a selected antenna. Alternatively, the micro controller <b>426</b> can receive indications from the SoC <b>402</b> of which radio is to be operating and the micro controller <b>426</b> can select an appropriate communication path between a radio (or a channel of the radio) and an appropriate antenna. The antenna switching circuitry <b>424</b> is described in more detail below with respect to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 5-7</figref>.

In another embodiment, a filter switch bank is coupled between the antenna switching circuitry <b>424</b> and the second set of WLAN radios <b>410</b>-<b>416</b>. In another embodiment, the filter switch bank can be implemented within the antenna switching circuitry <b>424</b>.

In the depicted embodiment, the first set of WLAN radios include a 2×2 2.4 GHz MIMO radio <b>406</b> and a first 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>408</b>. The second set of WLAN radios includes a second 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>410</b> (“5GLL”), a third 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>412</b> (“5GLH”), a fourth 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>414</b> (“5GHL”), and a fifth 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>416</b> (“5GHH”). The dual-band omni-directional antennas <b>420</b> may include a first omni-directional antenna and a second omni-directional antenna (not individually illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref>). The set of directional antennas <b>422</b> comprises: a first horizontal orientation antenna; a first vertical orientation antenna; a second horizontal orientation antenna; a second vertical orientation antenna; a third horizontal orientation antenna; a third vertical orientation antenna; a fourth horizontal orientation antenna; a fourth vertical orientation antenna; a fifth horizontal orientation antenna; a fifth vertical orientation antenna; a sixth horizontal orientation antenna; a sixth vertical orientation antenna; a seventh horizontal orientation antenna; a seventh vertical orientation antenna; an eighth horizontal orientation antenna; an eighth vertical orientation antenna; a ninth vertical orientation antenna (upper antenna described herein); a ninth horizontal antenna (upper antenna); an tenth horizontal antenna (bottom antenna); and a tenth vertical antenna (bottom antenna). These last four antennas may also be RHC orientation and LHC orientation antennas as described herein.

In one embodiment, the mesh network device <b>400</b> can handle antenna switching in a static manner. The SoC <b>402</b> can perform sounding operations with the WLAN radios to determine a switch configuration. Switching is not done on a per packet basis or at a packet level. The static switch configuration can be evaluated a few times a day by the SoC <b>402</b>. The SoC <b>402</b> can include the intelligence for switching decision based on neighbor sounding operations done by the SoC <b>402</b>. The micro controller <b>426</b> can be used to program the antenna switching circuitry <b>424</b> (e.g., switch matrix) since the mesh network device <b>400</b> may be based on CSMA-CA, not TDMA. Deciding where the data will be coming into the mesh network device <b>400</b> is not known prior to receipt, so dynamic switching may not add much benefit. It should also be noted that network backbone issues, such as one of the mesh network devices becoming unavailable, may trigger another neighbor sounding process to determine a new switch configuration. Once the neighbor sounding process is completed, the mesh network device <b>400</b> can adapt a beam patter to be essentially fixed since the mesh network devices are not intended to move once situated.

In one embodiment, the antenna switching circuitry <b>424</b> includes multiple diplexers and switches to connect different combinations of antennas to the multiple radios. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 5-7</figref> illustrate three different architectures for the antenna switching circuitry <b>424</b>. The following diagrams use the following notations for reference:

ANT Hx→Horizontal orientation device side antenna

ANT Vx→Vertical orientation device side antenna

ANT VB→Vertical orientation device bottom side antenna

ANT HB→Horizontal orientation device bottom side antenna

ANT VU→Vertical orientation device top side antenna

ANT HU→Horizontal orientation device top side antenna

ANT0→Omni directional antenna

ANT1→Omni directional antenna

One configuration for the antenna switching circuitry <b>424</b> is a switch matrix architecture. In this architecture, there are six 2×2 WLAN radios (also referred to as the Wi-Fi® radios). Five radios are 5 GHz band and one radio is a 2.4 GHz radio. A switch matrix is implemented to allow the connection of each and any of the four 2×2 radios to any of the Vx/Hx MIMO antennas. Based on the switch matrix configuration and based on the routing algorithms input, each 2×2 radio can connect to a specific antenna pair in a specific direction. Each 2×2 radio can operate using a dedicated and unique WLAN frequency channel concurrently or simultaneously. In this architecture, two of the radios (5 GHz radio and 2.4 GHz radio) may have fixed connections to the omni-directional antennas (Ant0 and Ant1). These two radios may also have access to all the WLAN 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz band channels. In another embodiment, this architecture also may also have 4G/3G and 2G WAN radio to provide cellular connectivity to the mesh network device <b>400</b>.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref> is a block diagram of antenna switching circuitry <b>501</b> of a network hardware device <b>500</b> according to one embodiment. The network hardware device <b>500</b> includes the SoC <b>402</b> as described above. The SoC <b>402</b> includes a first interface <b>550</b> coupled to a first RF radio <b>511</b>, a first PCIe interface <b>551</b> coupled to a first PCIe switch <b>552</b>, a second PCIe interface <b>553</b> coupled to a second PCIe switch <b>554</b>, and a third PCIe interface <b>555</b> coupled to a third PCIe switch <b>556</b>. The first PCIe switch <b>552</b> is coupled to a first WLAN radio <b>512</b> and a second WLAN radio <b>514</b>. The second PCIe switch <b>554</b> is coupled to a third WLAN radio <b>516</b> and a fourth WLAN radio <b>518</b>. The third PCIe switch <b>556</b> is coupled to a fifth WLAN radio <b>520</b> and a sixth WLAN radio <b>522</b>. Each of the PCIe switches <b>512</b>-<b>522</b> includes a first WLAN channel and a second WLAN channel coupled to terminals of the antenna switching circuitry <b>501</b>. The first RF radio <b>511</b> is coupled to a first WAN antenna <b>502</b> over a first WAN channel and coupled to a second WAN antenna <b>504</b> over a second WAN channel. The antenna switching circuitry <b>501</b> is coupled to the various antennas <b>510</b>. Although the depicted embodiment uses PCIe interfaces and PCIe switches, in other embodiments, other types of interfaces and switches can be used. The first WLAN radio <b>512</b> is a 2×2 2.4 GHz MIMO radio and the second WLAN radios <b>514</b>-<b>522</b> are 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radios. In other embodiments, the SoC <b>402</b> may include a same number of interfaces as a number of radios coupled to the SoC <b>402</b>. In these cases, PCIe switches would not be needed. For example, in other embodiment, the SoC <b>402</b> includes 7 interfaces for the seven radios. When six radios are used, the SoC <b>402</b> may include six digital interfaces. Alternatively, other interconnects can be used to connect the radios to the SoC <b>402</b> or other type of application processor.

In the depicted embodiment, the antenna switching circuitry <b>501</b> includes: a first diplexer <b>528</b> coupled to a first antenna <b>506</b>, a first channel of the first 2×2 2.4 GHz MIMO radio <b>512</b>, and a first channel of the 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>514</b>; a second diplexer <b>530</b> coupled to the second antenna <b>508</b>, a second channel of the first 2×2 2.4 GHz MIMO radio <b>512</b>, and a second channel of the 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>514</b>; and a switch matrix. Although the first antenna <b>528</b> and the second antenna <b>530</b> are illustrated inside the antenna switching circuitry <b>501</b>, these antennas are not part of the antenna switching circuitry <b>501</b>. The micro controller <b>426</b> controls the switches of the switch matrix to select different combinations of the antennas to be coupled to the different radios, as described herein. The micro controller <b>426</b> can select the switches according to an antenna selection algorithm. The switch matrix includes: a first set <b>526</b> of ten single-pole, four-throw (SP4T) switches each coupled to one of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth horizontal antennas; a second set <b>524</b> of four single-pole, ten-throw (SP10T) switches, each of the four terminals of each of the ten SP10T switches of the first set <b>526</b> is coupled to one of the ten terminals of the four SP10T switches of the second set <b>524</b>; a third set <b>546</b> of ten SP4T switches each coupled to one of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth vertical antennas; and a fourth set <b>544</b> of SP switches, each of the four terminals of each of the ten SP10T switches of the third set <b>546</b> is coupled to one of the ten terminals of the four SP10T switches of the fourth set <b>544</b>.

In a further embodiment, the antenna switching circuitry <b>501</b> includes additional switches <b>532</b>, <b>534</b>, <b>536</b> and <b>538</b> to provide multiple paths with different band pass filters tuned to specific sub-ranges of frequencies within the frequency band. The antenna switching circuit <b>501</b> may include additional band pass filters that are tuned to specific sub-ranges of frequencies. These band pass filters may be statically disposed on the conductive path between the radios and the switches <b>524</b>, <b>544</b>. In other embodiment, as depicted, the antenna switching circuitry <b>501</b> includes low pass filters, high pass filters, band pass filters, or any combination thereof, in the communication paths between the radios and the antennas. For example, high pass filters are disposed on the communication paths between the first RF radio <b>511</b> and the first WAN antenna <b>502</b> and the second WAN antenna <b>504</b>. The high pass filters can be used to filter out frequencies higher than a certain frequency, such as the 5 GHz frequency of the second WLAN radios <b>514</b>-<b>522</b> that are 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radios. Low pass filters can be used to filter out frequencies lower than a certain frequency, such as the 2.4 GHz frequencies of the first RF radio <b>511</b>, or the frequencies of the first WLAN radio <b>512</b> that is a 2×2 2.4 GHz MIMO radio. Band pass filters can also be used to filter out unwanted frequencies outside of a range of frequencies for the particular communication channel.

Another configuration for the antenna switching circuitry <b>424</b> includes a switch bank of band pass filters (BPFs). In this architecture, there are six 2×2 WLAN radios in this architecture. Five radios are 5 GHz band and one radio is a 2.4 GHz radio. A switch band pass filters bank is implemented to provide channels selectivity in the WLAN 5 GHz band. Four of the 5 GHz radios may have a dedicated and fixed connection to the switch band pass filter bank. Each switch bank band pass filters element is connected to the antennas using a series of switches that allows the connection of the switch bank to any of the Vx/Hx antennas. The advantages of this architecture may be a reduction in complexity of the switching matrix and may give each radio the flexibility of choosing any WLAN channel based on the routing algorithms, instead of fixing each radio to a dedicated channel in the switching matrix architecture. One of the 5 GHz radios may have a fixed connection to any one of the omni-directional antennas (Ant0 and Ant1) through a switch bank filters. The 2.4 GHz antenna may have access to all the WLAN 2.4 GHz band channels. The architecture may also have a 4G/3G and 2G WAN radio (e.g., first RF radio <b>511</b>) to provide cellular connectivity to the mesh network device.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6</figref> is a block diagram of antenna switching circuitry <b>601</b> of a network hardware device <b>600</b> according to another embodiment. The network hardware device <b>600</b> is similar to the network hardware device <b>500</b> as noted by similar reference labels. In the depicted embodiment, the antenna switching circuitry <b>601</b> includes: a first diplexer <b>628</b> coupled to the first antenna <b>506</b> and a first channel of the first 2×2 2.4 GHz MIMO radio <b>512</b>; a second diplexer <b>630</b> coupled to the second antenna <b>508</b> and a second channel of the first 2×2 2.4 GHz MIMO radio <b>514</b>; and a switch bank of band pass filters (BPFs). The micro controller <b>426</b> controls the switches of the switch bank to select different combinations of the antennas to be coupled to the different radios, as described herein. The micro controller <b>426</b> can select the switches according to an antenna selection algorithm. The switch bank includes: ten sets <b>631</b> of BPFs, each set having four BPFs; ten pairs <b>633</b> of −SP4T switches. Each of the ten sets <b>631</b> of four BPFs are coupled between each pair of the ten pairs <b>633</b> of SP4T switches. Each of the ten pairs <b>633</b> of SP4T switches is coupled to a channel of the second 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>516</b>, the third 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>518</b>, the fourth 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>520</b>, or the fifth 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>522</b>. A first of the ten pairs <b>633</b> of SP4T switches is coupled to a first channel of the first 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>522</b> and the first diplexer <b>528</b>. A second of the ten pairs <b>633</b> of SP4T switches is coupled to a second channel of the first 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>522</b> and the second diplexer <b>630</b>. A first SP4T switch is coupled to a third of the ten pairs <b>633</b> of SP4T switches, the first horizontal antenna, and the second horizontal antenna. A second SP4T switch is coupled to a fourth of the ten pairs <b>633</b> of SP4T switches, the first vertical antenna, and the second vertical antenna. A third SP4T switch is coupled to a fifth of the ten pairs <b>633</b> of SP4T switches, the third horizontal antenna, and the fourth horizontal antenna. A fourth SP4T switch is coupled to a sixth of the ten pairs <b>633</b> of SP4T switches, the third vertical antenna, and fourth second vertical antenna. A fifth SP4T switch is coupled to a seventh of the ten pairs <b>633</b> of SP4T switches, the fifth horizontal antenna, and the sixth horizontal antenna. A sixth SP4T switch is coupled to an eighth of the ten pairs <b>633</b> of SP4T switches, the fifth vertical antenna, and sixth second vertical antenna. A seventh SP4T switch is coupled to a ninth of the ten pairs <b>633</b> of SP4T switches, the seventh horizontal antenna, and the eighth horizontal antenna. A eighth SP4T switch is coupled to a tenth of the ten pairs <b>633</b> of SP4T switches, the seventh vertical antenna, and eighth second vertical antenna. A ninth SP4T switch is coupled to the first SP4T switch, the third SP4T switch, the fifth SP4T switch, the seventh SP4T switch, and the ninth horizontal antenna or the ninth vertical antenna. A tenth SP4T switch is coupled to the second SP4T switch, the fourth SP4T switch, the sixth SP4T switch, the eighth SP4T switch, and the tenth horizontal antenna or the tenth vertical antenna. In other embodiments, the last four antennas are not horizontal and vertical antennas, but can be other polarization types, such as right hand circular (RHC) polarization and left hand circular (LHC) polarization.

Another configuration for the antenna switching circuitry <b>424</b> is a high isolation architecture. In this architecture, there are six 2×2 WLAN radios. Five radios are 5 GHz band radios and one radio is a 2.4 GHz radio. This architecture provides high isolation between the radios antennas. This may remove the need of filters or switched filter bank from the circuit board design to provide high isolation. In this architecture, each radio can be connected to any Vx/Hx antennas using a series of switches that are controlled by the routing algorithm. Based on the switches configuration and based on the routing algorithms input, each 2×2 radio may connect to a specific antenna pair in a specific direction. Each 2×2 radio may operate using a dedicated and unique WLAN frequency channel concurrently or simultaneously. In this architecture, two of the radios (5 GHz radio and 2.4 GHz radio) may have fixed connections to the omni-directional antennas (Ant0 and Ant1). These two radios may have access to all the WLAN 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz band channels. This architecture may also have a 4G/3G and 2G WAN radio (e.g., first RF radio <b>511</b>) to provide cellular connectivity to the mesh network device.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 7</figref> is a block diagram of antenna switching circuitry <b>701</b> of a network hardware device <b>700</b> according to another embodiment. The network hardware device <b>700</b> is similar to the network hardware device <b>500</b> as noted by similar reference labels. In the depicted embodiment, the antenna switching circuitry <b>701</b> includes: a first diplexer <b>728</b> coupled to a first antenna <b>506</b>, a first channel of the first 2×2 2.4 GHz MIMO radio <b>512</b>, and a first channel of the first 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>512</b>; a second diplexer <b>630</b> coupled to a second antenna <b>508</b>, a second channel of the first 2×2 2.4 GHz MIMO radio <b>514</b>, and a second channel of the first 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>514</b>; a first single-pole, multiple-throw (SPnT) switch <b>724</b> coupled to a first channel of the second 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>516</b>, the first horizontal antenna, and the second horizontal antenna, where N is an integer value greater than two; a second SPnT switch <b>734</b> coupled to a second channel of the second 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>516</b>, the first vertical antenna, and the second vertical antenna; a third SPnT switch <b>736</b> coupled to a first channel of the third 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>518</b>, the third horizontal antenna, and the fourth horizontal antenna; a fourth SPnT switch <b>738</b> coupled to a second channel of the third 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>518</b>, the third vertical antenna, and fourth second vertical antenna; a fifth SPnT switch <b>740</b> coupled to a first channel of the fourth 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>520</b>, the fifth horizontal antenna, and the sixth horizontal antenna; a sixth SPnT switch <b>742</b> coupled to a second channel of the fourth 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>520</b>, the fifth vertical antenna, and sixth second vertical antenna; a seventh SPnT switch <b>744</b> coupled to a first channel of the fifth 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>522</b>, the seventh horizontal antenna, and the eighth horizontal antenna; an eighth SPnT switch <b>746</b> coupled to a second channel of the fifth 2×2 5 GHz MIMO radio <b>522</b>, the seventh vertical antenna, and eighth second vertical antenna; a first SPDT switch <b>752</b> coupled to the ninth antenna and the tenth antenna; a ninth SPnT switch <b>748</b> coupled to the first SPDT switch <b>732</b>, the first SPnT switch <b>752</b>, the third SPnT switch <b>736</b>, the fifth SPnT switch <b>740</b>, and the seventh SPnT switch <b>744</b>; a second SPDT switch <b>754</b> coupled to the eleventh antenna and the twelfth antenna; and a tenth SPnT switch <b>750</b> coupled to the second SPDT switch <b>734</b>, the second SPnT switch <b>754</b>, the fourth SPnT switch <b>738</b>, the sixth SPnT switch <b>742</b>, and the eighth SPnT switch <b>746</b>. The n is an integer value greater than two. The micro controller <b>426</b> controls the switches <b>732</b>-<b>746</b> to select different combinations of the antennas to be coupled to the different radios, as described herein. The micro controller <b>426</b> can select the switches according to an antenna selection algorithm.

In another embodiment, a mesh network device includes an application processor, a micro controller, and antenna switching circuitry. The application processor processes data signals in connection with communicating with other mesh network devices and client consumption devices in a WMN. The mesh network device also includes seven radios: a first radio coupled to a first interface of the application processor and coupled to two cellular antennas; a second radio coupled to a second interface of the application processor, the second radio being coupled to a first dual-band omni-directional antenna; a third radio coupled to the second interface, the third radio being coupled to a second dual-band omni-directional antenna; a fourth radio coupled to a third interface of the application processor; a fifth radio coupled to the third interface; a sixth radio coupled to a fourth interface of the application processor; and a seventh radio coupled to the fourth interface. The antenna switching circuitry includes a first set of four switches (e.g., <b>732</b>, <b>736</b>, <b>740</b>, <b>744</b>), each of the four switches in the first set being coupled to a first channel of the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh radios, respectively, and to one pair of a first set of four pairs of directional antennas, respectively. The antenna switching circuitry also includes a second set of four switches (e.g., <b>734</b>, <b>738</b>, <b>742</b>, <b>746</b>), each of the four switches of the second set being coupled to a second channel of the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh radios, respectively, and to one pair of a second set of four pairs of directional antennas, respectively. The antenna switching circuitry also includes a third switch (e.g., <b>748</b>) coupled to each of the first set of four switches and one of a third set of two directional antennas and a fourth switch (e.g., <b>750</b>) coupled to each of the second set of four switches and one of a fourth set of two directional antennas. The micro controller controls the antenna switching circuitry to connect different combinations of the first set, the second set, the third set, and the fourth set of directional antennas to different combinations of the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh radios for wireless communications between the mesh network device and the other mesh network devices in the WMN. In another embodiment, micro controller controls the antenna switching circuitry to couple any of the directional antennas to any of the fourth radio, the fifth radio, the sixth radio, or the seventh radio. In a further embodiment, the antenna switching circuitry may include a fifth switch (e.g., <b>752</b>) coupled between the third switch and the third set of two directional antennas and a sixth switch (e.g., <b>754</b>) coupled between the fourth switch and the fourth set of two directional antennas.

In a further embodiment, the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh radios are WLAN radios that operate at the 5 GHz band, the second radio is a WLAN radio that operates at the 2.4 GHz band, and the third radio is a WLAN radio that operates at the 5 GHz band. The first radio can operate at one or more cellular frequency bands as described herein.

In a further embodiment, the antenna switching circuitry may include a first diplexer (e.g., <b>728</b>) coupled to the first dual-band omni-directional antenna, a first channel of the second radio, and a first channel of the third radio. The antenna switching circuitry may also include a second diplexer (e.g., <b>730</b>) coupled to the second dual-band omni-directional antenna, a second channel of the second radio, and a second channel of the third radio.

In a further embodiment, the mesh network device includes three interconnect switches: a first interconnect switch (e.g., PCIe switch) coupled the second interface of the application processor and coupled to the second radio and the third radio; a second interconnect switch (e.g., PCIe switch) coupled the third interface of the application processor and coupled to the fourth radio and the fifth radio; and a third interconnect switch (e.g., PCIe switch) coupled the fourth interface of the application processor and coupled to the sixth radio and the seventh radio.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> illustrates a multi-radio, multi-channel (MRMC) network device <b>800</b> according to one embodiment. The MRMC network <b>800</b> includes a metal housing <b>802</b> that has eight sectors <b>804</b>-<b>818</b>. Each of the eight sectors <b>804</b>-<b>818</b> has a truncated pyramid structure with a top portion and four side portions that define a recessed region of the respective truncated pyramid structure. The truncated pyramid structures are disposed on their sides in a horizontal plane and arranged in a circular arraignment with two adjacent sectors sharing at least one common side portion. The truncated pyramid structure may form an octagonal prism for the metal housing <b>802</b>. The top portion and the four side portions may be metal surfaces or have portions of metal. Also, the outer top surfaces of the eight sectors form an inner chamber <b>811</b> in a center of the metal housing <b>802</b>. In particular, the sector <b>808</b> may be considered a reflective chamber that includes an top portion <b>830</b>, a first side portion <b>832</b>, a second side portion <b>834</b>, a third side portion <b>836</b>, and a fourth side portion <b>838</b>. The other sectors <b>804</b>, <b>806</b>, <b>810</b>, <b>812</b>, <b>814</b>, <b>816</b>, and <b>818</b> may have similar metal portions or surfaces as reflective chambers as the sector <b>808</b>. Similarly, the inner chamber <b>811</b> can be considered reflective. For example, the circuit board <b>811</b> includes a metal ground plane that is a reflective surface for the top antenna, as well as for the bottom antenna. The opposite sides of the metal surfaces of the reflective chambers also are reflective for the top and bottom antennas.

In the depicted embodiment, the MRMC network <b>800</b> includes a circuit board <b>820</b> disposed within the metal housing <b>802</b>. In particular, the circuit board <b>820</b> may include multiple portions, such as a first portion disposed in the inner chamber <b>811</b>. There may be a second portion of the circuit board <b>820</b> disposed within a first sector <b>804</b> and a third portion of the circuit board <b>820</b> disposed within a second sector <b>806</b>. These portions may extend to an outer side of the metal housing <b>802</b>. The circuit board <b>820</b> may also include smaller portions that are disposed in the other sectors <b>808</b>-<b>818</b> to accommodate some of the antenna pairs disposed within the respective sectors.

In the depicted embodiment, the MRMC network <b>800</b> includes eight pairs of antennas <b>840</b>, each pair being disposed in one of the eight sectors <b>804</b>-<b>818</b>. Each pair includes a horizontal orientation antenna and a vertical orientation antenna. The eight pairs of antennas <b>840</b> may be disposed on, above, or below corresponding sections of the circuit board <b>820</b>. In one embodiment, each of the eight pairs of antennas <b>840</b> is a pair of cross polarized dipole antennas, a pair of vertical polarized dipole antennas, or a pair of cross polarized patch antennas, as described below with respect to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 9-11</figref>.

In some embodiments, the MRMC network <b>800</b> includes a top antenna disposed on a top side of the circuit board <b>820</b> within the inner chamber <b>811</b> and a bottom antenna disposed on a bottom side of the circuit board <b>820</b> within the inner chamber <b>811</b>. In the depicted embodiment, top antennas <b>842</b>, <b>844</b> are disposed above the circuit board <b>820</b>, and bottom antennas <b>846</b>, <b>848</b> are disposed below the circuit board <b>820</b>. The top antennas <b>842</b>, <b>844</b> and the bottom antennas <b>846</b>, <b>848</b> are helix coil antennas. In other embodiments, the top and bottom antennas may be other types of antennas, such as patch antennas, monopoles, dipoles, loops, folded monopoles, or the like.

In the depicted embodiment, the eight pairs of antennas <b>840</b>, the top antennas <b>842</b>, <b>844</b>, and the bottom antennas <b>846</b>, <b>848</b> are design to radiate electromagnetic energy in a first frequency range, such as the 5 GHz band of the Wi-Fi® technologies. The metal of the top portion and the four side portions of each of the eight sectors operate as a reflector chamber. For example, the metal of the top portion <b>830</b> and the four side portions <b>832</b>-<b>838</b> of the sector <b>808</b> operate as a reflector chamber for the pair of antennas <b>840</b> within the respective chamber. The reflective chamber reflects the electromagnetic energy, radiated by the horizontal orientation antenna, in a first directional radiation pattern with high gain in a direction along a center axis of the sector <b>808</b> (e.g., a truncated pyramid structure) and reflects the electromagnetic energy, radiated by the vertical orientation antenna, in a second directional radiation pattern with high gain in the direction along the center axis of the sector <b>808</b>. The gain the first direction is considered higher than the gain in other directions, such as an opposite direction than the first direction. The number of metal surfaces may impact the gain in the first direction. As few as one metal surface can be used to reflect the electromagnetic energy. However, if more than three metal surfaces, the gain in the first direction can be increased.

In the depicted embodiment, the MRMC network <b>800</b> includes a first omni-directional antenna <b>850</b> (e.g., dual-band WLAN antenna) disposed on the top side of the second portion of the circuit board <b>820</b> disposed within the sector <b>804</b> (i.e., a first of the eight sectors). In a further embodiment, a second omni-directional antenna <b>852</b> is disposed on the top side of the third portion of the circuit board <b>820</b> disposed within the sector <b>806</b> (i.e., a second of the eight sectors). The first omni-directional antenna <b>850</b> and the second omni-directional antenna <b>852</b> are designed to radiate electromagnetic energy in the first frequency range (e.g., 5 GHz band) and a second frequency range (e.g., 2.4 GHz band).

In the depicted embodiment, the MRMC network <b>800</b> includes a first cellular antenna <b>854</b> (e.g., WWAN antenna) disposed on the top side of the second portion of the circuit board <b>820</b> disposed within the sector <b>804</b> (i.e., a first of the eight sectors). In a further embodiment, a second cellular antenna <b>856</b> is disposed on the top side of the third portion of the circuit board <b>820</b> disposed within the sector <b>806</b> (i.e., a second of the eight sectors). The first cellular antenna <b>854</b> and the second cellular antenna <b>856</b> are designed to radiate electromagnetic energy in a third frequency range. For examples, the third frequency range may be the 900 MHz band for the 2G specification, the 1800 MHz band for the 2G specification, the B1 band for the 3G specification, the B8 band for the 3G specification, or the B40 band for the LTE specification.

In the depicted embodiment, the MRMC network <b>800</b> includes a first RF radio (not illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref>) disposed on the circuit board <b>820</b> and coupled to the first cellular antenna <b>854</b> and the second cellular antenna <b>856</b>. The first RF radio causes the first cellular antenna <b>854</b>, the second cellular antenna <b>856</b>, or both to radiate the electromagnetic energy in the third frequency range. In a further embodiment, multiple RF radios (not illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref>) are disposed on the circuit board <b>820</b> and coupled to the eight pairs of antennas <b>840</b>, the top antennas <b>842</b>, <b>844</b>, and the bottom antennas <b>846</b>, <b>848</b>. The RF radios cause different combinations of one or more of the eight pairs of antennas <b>840</b>, the top antennas <b>842</b>, <b>844</b>, and the bottom antennas <b>846</b>, <b>848</b> to radiate the electromagnetic energy in the first frequency range (e.g., 2.4 GHz band). In a further embodiment, a second RF radio (not illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref>) is disposed on the circuit board <b>820</b> and coupled to the first omni-directional antenna <b>850</b> and the second omni-directional antenna <b>852</b>. The second RF radio cause the first omni-directional antenna <b>850</b>, the second omni-directional antenna <b>852</b>, or both to radiate the electromagnetic energy in the first frequency range (e.g., 5 GHz band).

In the depicted embodiment, the MRMC network <b>800</b> includes a third RF radio (not illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref>) disposed on the circuit board <b>820</b> and coupled to the first omni-directional antenna <b>850</b> and the second omni-directional antenna <b>852</b>. The second RF radio cause the first omni-directional antenna <b>850</b>, the second omni-directional antenna <b>852</b>, or both to radiate the electromagnetic energy in the second frequency range (e.g., 2.4 GHz band).

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 9</figref> illustrates a pair of cross polarized dipole antennas <b>902</b>, <b>904</b> within a chamber <b>900</b> of the MRMC network device of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> according to one embodiment. The pair of polarized dipole antennas includes a vertical orientation dipole antenna <b>902</b> and a horizontal orientation dipole antenna <b>904</b>. Within the chamber <b>900</b>, there may be a section <b>906</b> of the circuit board <b>820</b> upon which there are RF feeds disposed to feed the pair of cross polarized dipole antennas <b>902</b>, <b>904</b>. A balun <b>908</b> may be coupled to the pair of cross polarized dipole antennas <b>902</b>, <b>904</b>. A balun is an electrical device that converts between a balanced signal and an unbalanced signal. When current is applied to the vertical orientation dipole antenna <b>902</b>, the vertical orientation dipole antenna <b>902</b> radiates electromagnetic energy in a vertical orientation. The chamber <b>900</b>, being a reflective chamber as described above, reflects the electromagnetic energy, radiated by the vertical orientation dipole antenna <b>902</b>, to form a first directional radiation pattern with high gain in a direction along a center axis of the chamber <b>900</b> (i.e., a truncated pyramid structure). When current is applied to the horizontal orientation dipole antenna <b>904</b>, the horizontal orientation dipole antenna <b>904</b> radiates electromagnetic energy in a horizontal orientation. The chamber <b>900</b>, being a reflective chamber as described above, reflects the electromagnetic energy, radiated by the horizontal orientation dipole antenna <b>904</b>, to form a second directional radiation pattern with high gain in the direction along the center axis of the chamber <b>900</b> (i.e., a truncated pyramid structure). The other seven chambers, as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref>, may also include a pair of cross polarized dipole antennas <b>902</b>, <b>904</b>.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 10</figref> illustrates a pair of vertical polarized dipole antennas <b>1002</b>, <b>1004</b> within a chamber <b>1000</b> of the MRMC network device of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> according to another embodiment. The pair of vertical polarized dipole antennas includes a first vertical orientation dipole antenna <b>1002</b> and a second vertical orientation dipole antenna <b>1004</b>. Within the chamber <b>1000</b>, there may be a first section <b>1006</b> of the circuit board <b>820</b> upon an RF feed is disposed to feed the first vertical orientation dipole antennas <b>1002</b>. A first balun <b>1008</b> may be coupled to the first vertical orientation dipole antennas <b>1002</b>. Also, within the chamber <b>1000</b>, there may be a second section <b>1010</b> of the circuit board <b>820</b> upon an RF feed is disposed to feed the second vertical polarized dipole antenna <b>1004</b>. A second balun <b>1012</b> may be coupled to the second vertical dipole antennas <b>1004</b>. When current is applied to the first vertical orientation dipole antenna <b>1002</b>, the vertical orientation dipole antenna <b>1002</b> radiates electromagnetic energy in a vertical orientation. The chamber <b>1000</b>, being a reflective chamber as described above, reflects the electromagnetic energy, radiated by the vertical orientation dipole antenna <b>1002</b>, to form a first directional radiation pattern with high gain in a direction along a center axis of the chamber <b>1000</b>. When current is applied to the second vertical orientation dipole antenna <b>1004</b>, the second vertical orientation dipole antenna <b>1004</b> radiates electromagnetic energy in a vertical orientation. The chamber <b>1000</b>, being a reflective chamber as described above, reflects the electromagnetic energy, radiated by the second orientation dipole antenna <b>1004</b>, to form a second directional radiation pattern with high gain in the direction along the center axis of the chamber <b>1000</b> (i.e., a truncated pyramid structure). The other seven chambers, as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref>, may also include a pair of vertical polarized dipole antennas <b>1002</b>, <b>1004</b>. It should be noted that side portions may be slanted inward to an opposing side, such as illustrated in the reflective chamber <b>900</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 9</figref>. However, in other embodiments, some of the inner sides may not be slanted, but could be parallel to the opposing side, such as illustrated in the top and bottom surfaces of the reflective chamber <b>1000</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 10</figref>. In this embodiment, the two side portions are still slanted. Alternatively, other geometries of the walls can be used.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 11</figref> illustrates a pair of cross polarized patch antennas <b>1102</b>, <b>1104</b> within a chamber of the MRMC network device of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> according to another embodiment. The pair of cross polarized patch antennas includes a first orientation patch antenna <b>1102</b> and a second orientation patch antenna <b>1104</b>. Within the chamber <b>1100</b>, a first RF feed is disposed to feed a first side of a patch, forming a first orientation patch antenna <b>1102</b>. Also, within the chamber <b>1100</b>, a second RF feed is disposed to feed a second side of the path, forming a second orientation path antenna <b>1104</b>. The first orientation patch antenna <b>1102</b> may be a first 45-degree slant polarization and the second orientation patch antenna <b>1104</b> may be a second 45-degree slant polarization that is orthogonal to the first 45-degree slant polarization. When current is applied to the first orientation patch antenna <b>1102</b>, the first orientation patch antenna <b>1102</b> radiates electromagnetic energy in a first 45-degree orientation. The chamber <b>1100</b>, being a reflective chamber as described above, reflects the electromagnetic energy, radiated by the first orientation patch antenna <b>1102</b>, to form a first directional radiation pattern with high gain in a direction along a center axis of the chamber <b>10100</b>. When current is applied to the second orientation patch antenna <b>1104</b>, the second orientation patch antenna <b>1104</b> radiates electromagnetic energy in a second 45-degree orientation. The chamber <b>1100</b>, being a reflective chamber as described above, reflects the electromagnetic energy, radiated by the second orientation patch antenna <b>1104</b>, to form a second directional radiation pattern with high gain in the direction along the center axis of the chamber <b>1100</b> (i.e., a truncated pyramid structure). The other seven chambers, as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref>, may also include a pair of cross polarized patch antennas <b>1102</b>, <b>1104</b>.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 12</figref> illustrates a pair of coil antennas <b>1202</b>, <b>1204</b> within an inner chamber <b>1200</b> of the MRMC network device of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> according to one embodiment. The inner chamber <b>1200</b> is similar to the inner chamber <b>811</b> described above. In some embodiments, a portion of the inner chamber <b>1200</b> that is above the circuit board <b>820</b> may be considered an upper chamber, and the portion of the inner chamber <b>1200</b> that is below the circuit board <b>820</b> may be considered a lower chamber. In this upper chamber, the MRMC network device includes a first coil antenna <b>1202</b> having a right hand circular polarization (RHCP) and a second coil antenna <b>1204</b> having a left hand circular polarization (LHCP). A similar pair of antennas with RHCP and LHCP can be disposed on a second side of the circuit board <b>820</b> in the lower chamber. When current is applied to the first coil antenna <b>1202</b>, the first coil antenna <b>1202</b> radiates electromagnetic energy in a RHCP. The chamber <b>1200</b> may or may not be reflective like the chambers in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 9-11</figref>. When the chamber <b>1200</b> is reflective, the electromagnetic energy, radiated by the first coil antenna <b>1202</b>, forms a first directional radiation pattern with high gain in the direction along the center axis of the chamber <b>1200</b> (i.e., opening within an octagonal prism). When current is applied to the second coil antenna <b>1204</b>, the second coil antenna <b>1204</b> radiates electromagnetic energy in a LHCP. When the chamber <b>1200</b> is reflective, the electromagnetic energy, radiated by the second coil antenna <b>1204</b>, forms a second directional radiation pattern with high gain in the direction along the center axis of the chamber <b>1200</b> (i.e., opening within an octagonal prism). The lower chamber, as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref>, may also include a pair of coil antennas <b>1202</b>, <b>1204</b>.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 13</figref> illustrates a dual-feed, dual-polarized patch antenna <b>1302</b> within an inner chamber <b>811</b> of the MRMC network device of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> according to another embodiment. In this upper chamber, the MRMC network device includes dual-feed, dual-polarized patch antenna <b>1302</b>. A similar dual-feed dual-polarized patch antenna can be disposed on a second side of the circuit board <b>820</b> in the lower chamber. When current is applied to a first feed of the dual-feed, dual-polarized patch <b>1302</b>, the dual-feed, dual-polarized patch <b>1302</b> radiates electromagnetic energy in a first polarization. The chamber <b>1300</b> may or may not be reflective like the chambers in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 9-11</figref>. When the chamber <b>1300</b> is reflective, the electromagnetic energy, radiated by the dual-feed, dual-polarized patch <b>1302</b>, forms a first directional radiation pattern with high gain in the direction along the center axis of the chamber <b>1300</b> (i.e., opening within an octagonal prism). When current is applied to a second feed of the dual-feed, dual-polarized patch <b>1302</b>, the dual-feed, dual-polarized patch <b>1302</b> radiates electromagnetic energy in a second polarization. When the chamber <b>1300</b> is reflective, the electromagnetic energy, radiated by the dual-feed, dual-polarized patch <b>1302</b>, forms a second directional radiation pattern with high gain in the direction along the center axis of the chamber <b>1300</b> (i.e., opening within an octagonal prism). The lower chamber, as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref>, may also include a dual-feed, dual-polarized patch <b>1302</b>.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 14A</figref> illustrates a WAN antenna <b>1402</b>, a pair of cross polarized dipole antennas <b>1404</b>, and a dual-band WLAN antenna <b>1406</b> within a chamber <b>1400</b> of the MRMC network device of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> according to one embodiment. Within the chamber <b>1400</b>, a WAN antenna <b>1402</b> can be disposed on a section <b>1401</b> of the circuit board <b>820</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref>. A WAN feed <b>1403</b> is disposed on an outer edge of the section <b>1401</b> at the opening of the chamber <b>1400</b>. The WAN feed <b>1403</b> is coupled to a monopole element <b>1405</b>. A parasitic ground element <b>1407</b> is coupled to ground and parasitically coupled to the monopole element <b>1405</b>. In this embodiment, the WAN antenna <b>1402</b>, including the monopole element <b>1405</b> and the parasitic ground element <b>1407</b> are disposed above the section <b>1401</b> of the circuit board. In another embodiment, the WAN antenna <b>1402</b> can be disposed below on a second side of the circuit board. A similar WAN antenna can be disposed in a chamber on an opposite side, as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref>. In other embodiments, other WAN antennas can be disposed in other chambers of the MRMC network device. When current is applied to the WAN antenna <b>1402</b>, the WAN antenna <b>1402</b> radiates electromagnetic energy. Because the WAN antenna <b>1402</b> is disposed on an outer edge of the section <b>1401</b> of the circuit board, the WAN antenna <b>1402</b> can be considered an omni-directional antenna. The WAN antenna <b>1402</b> can be designed to operate in WAN frequency bands, as described herein. In other embodiments, the WAN antenna <b>1402</b> can be other antenna types, such as a loop antenna, a yagi antenna, a monopole antenna, a PIFA antenna, or the like.

In the depicted embodiment, the chamber <b>1400</b> also includes the pair of cross polarized dipole antennas <b>1404</b>, including the vertical orientation dipole antenna <b>902</b> and the horizontal orientation dipole antenna <b>904</b>, such as described with respect to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 9</figref>. In other embodiments, other types of directional antennas may be disposed in the locations of the antenna <b>1404</b>, such as those illustrated and described with respect to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 10-11</figref>. In other embodiments, other types of antennas can be used as the directional antennas with different polarizations, such as helical coil antennas, loop antennas, yagi antennas, monopole antennas, PIFA antennas, or the like.

In the depicted embodiment, the chamber <b>1400</b> also includes a dual-band WLAN antenna <b>1406</b> disposed on the section <b>1401</b> of the circuit board <b>820</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref>. A WLAN feed <b>1409</b> is disposed on the outer edge of the section <b>1401</b> at the opening of the chamber <b>1400</b>. The WLAN feed <b>1409</b> is coupled to a monopole element <b>1411</b>. A parasitic ground element <b>1413</b> is coupled to ground and parasitically coupled to the monopole element <b>1411</b>. In this embodiment, the WLAN antenna <b>1406</b>, including the monopole element <b>1411</b> and the parasitic ground element <b>1413</b> are disposed above the section <b>1401</b> of the circuit board. In another embodiment, the WLAN antenna <b>1406</b> can be disposed below on a second side of the circuit board. A similar WLAN antenna can be disposed in a chamber on an opposite side, as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref>. In other embodiments, other dual-band WLAN antennas can be disposed in other chambers of the MRMC network device. For example, the dual-band WLAN antenna can be other types of antennas, such as helical coil antennas, loop antennas, yagi antennas, monopole antennas, PIFA antennas, or the like.

When current is applied to the WLAN antenna <b>1406</b>, the WLAN antenna <b>1406</b> radiates electromagnetic energy. Because the WLAN antenna <b>1406</b> is disposed on an outer edge of the section <b>1401</b> of the circuit board, the WLAN antenna <b>1406</b> can be considered an omni-directional antenna. The WLAN antenna <b>1406</b> can be designed to operate in WLAN frequency bands, such as the 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band as described herein.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 14B</figref> illustrates a WAN antenna <b>1452</b> and a dual-band WLAN antenna <b>1454</b> within a chamber <b>1450</b> of a MRMC network device according to another embodiment. Within the chamber <b>1450</b>, a WAN antenna <b>1452</b> can be disposed on a section <b>1451</b> of the circuit board <b>820</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref>. A WAN feed <b>1453</b> is disposed on an edge of the section <b>1451</b>. The WAN feed <b>1453</b> is coupled to a monopole element <b>1455</b>. A parasitic ground element <b>1457</b> is coupled to ground at another edge of the section <b>4151</b> at a recessed region of the chamber <b>1450</b>. The parasitic ground element <b>1457</b> is parasitically coupled to the monopole element <b>1455</b>. In this embodiment, the WAN antenna <b>1452</b>, including the monopole element <b>1455</b> and the parasitic ground element <b>1457</b> are disposed above the section <b>1451</b> of the circuit board. In another embodiment, the WAN antenna <b>1452</b> can be disposed below on a second side of the circuit board. A similar WAN antenna can be disposed in a chamber on an opposite side, as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref>. In other embodiments, other WAN antennas can be disposed in other chambers of the MRMC network device. When current is applied to the WAN antenna <b>1452</b>, the WAN antenna <b>1452</b> radiates electromagnetic energy. Because the WAN antenna <b>1452</b> is disposed closer to the opening of the chamber <b>1450</b>, the WAN antenna <b>1452</b> can be considered an omni-directional antenna. The WAN antenna <b>1452</b> can be designed to operate in WAN frequency bands, as described herein. In other embodiments, the WAN antenna <b>1452</b> can be other antenna types, such as a loop antenna, a yagi antenna, a monopole antenna, a PIFA antenna, or the like.

In the depicted embodiment, the chamber <b>1450</b> also includes a dual-band WLAN antenna <b>1454</b> disposed on the section <b>1451</b> of the circuit board <b>820</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref>. A WLAN feed <b>1459</b> is disposed on an edge of the section <b>1451</b>. The WLAN feed <b>1459</b> is coupled to a monopole element <b>1461</b>. In some embodiments, a folded monopole element or a loop element can be used instead. In this embodiment, the WLAN antenna <b>1454</b> is disposed above the section <b>1451</b> of the circuit board. In another embodiment, the WLAN antenna <b>1454</b> can be disposed below on a second side of the circuit board. A similar WLAN antenna can be disposed in a chamber on an opposite side, as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref>. In other embodiments, other dual-band WLAN antennas can be disposed in other chambers of the MRMC network device. For example, the dual-band WLAN antenna can be other types of antennas, such as helical coil antennas, loop antennas, yagi antennas, monopole antennas, PIFA antennas, or the like.

When current is applied to the WLAN antenna <b>1454</b>, the WLAN antenna <b>1454</b> radiates electromagnetic energy. Because the WLAN antenna <b>1454</b> is disposed closer to the opening of the chamber <b>1450</b>, the WLAN antenna <b>1454</b> can be considered an omni-directional antenna. The WLAN antenna <b>1454</b> can be designed to operate in WLAN frequency bands, such as the 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band as described herein.

In the depicted embodiment, the WAN antenna <b>1452</b> and the dual-band WLAN antenna <b>1454</b> are printed on the section <b>1451</b> of the circuit board as printed circuit board (PCB) type antennas. Alternatively, the WAN antenna <b>1452</b> and the dual-band WLAN antenna <b>1454</b> can be implemented in other manners.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 15</figref> illustrates a top view illustrating locations of the two WAN antennas, eight pairs of directional antennas, and two dual-band WLAN antennas on a circuit board of the MRMC network device of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> according to one embodiment. The circuit board <b>1502</b> is disposed within the housing of the MRMC network device of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref>. A first WAN antenna <b>1504</b> is disposed on a first section of the circuit board <b>1502</b> that extents into one of the reflective chambers as described herein. The first WAN antenna <b>1504</b> is disposed at or near an edge of the respective section of the circuit board <b>1502</b>. In the same section is disposed a first WLAN antenna <b>1508</b>. Similarly, the first WLAN antenna <b>1508</b> is disposed at or near an edge of the respective section. An opposing section of the circuit board <b>1052</b> is disposed a second WAN antenna <b>1506</b> and a second WLAN antenna <b>1510</b> at or near an edge of the respective section. The eight pairs of directional antennas <b>1512</b> are individual disposed at respective sections of the circuit board. The eight pairs of directional antennas <b>1512</b> may each be a pair of cross polarized dipole antennas of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 9</figref>, a pair of vertical polarized dipole antennas of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 10</figref>, a pair of cross polarized patch antennas of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 11</figref>, or the like. In addition, a pair of antennas <b>1514</b> is disposed in an inner section of the circuit board <b>1502</b>. The pair of antennas <b>1514</b> may be the pair of coil antennas of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 12</figref> or the dual-feed, dual-polarized path antenna of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 13</figref>. It should be noted that the antennas of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 15</figref> can be disposed in other locations on the circuit board <b>1502</b>. For example, the first WLAN antenna <b>1508</b> and second WLAN antenna <b>1510</b> can be disposed on top of the MRMC network device, such as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 16</figref>.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 16</figref> illustrates a dual-band WLAN antenna <b>1600</b> of the MRMC network device at another location than within a chamber according to another embodiment. The dual-band WLAN antenna <b>1600</b> is disposed topside of the MRMC network device. In particular, the dual-band WLAN antenna <b>1600</b> is disposed near an inner edge of the structure at the opening of the inner chamber <b>811</b> of the MRMC network device <b>800</b>. The RF feed <b>1602</b> is coupled to an RF radio disposed on the circuit board that is disposed within the housing. The dual-band WLAN antenna <b>1600</b> includes a monopole element <b>1604</b> coupled to a RF feed <b>1602</b>. The dual-band WLAN antenna <b>1600</b> also includes a parasitic ground element <b>1606</b> that is parasitically coupled to the monopole element <b>1604</b>. In the depicted embodiment, the parasitic element <b>1606</b> is a T-monopole element. Alternatively, other types of antennas may be used for the dual-band WLAN antenna <b>1600</b>. Also, the locations of the two dual-band WLAN antennas <b>1600</b> may be on or within the housing of the MRMC network device <b>800</b>.

It should be noted that although the various embodiments of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 8-16</figref> illustrate and described a metal housing having eight sectors with each of the eight sectors in the form of eight truncated pyramid structures disposed on their sides in a horizontal plane and adjacent to one another such that bases of the eight sectors form eight sides of an octagonal prism for the metal housing. In other embodiments, other shapes of the metal housing may be achieved, such as a metal housing having a pentagon, hexagon, or other polyhedron shapes. For example, an outer frame shaped as a first polyhedron with at least two reflective metal surfaces may form an individual chamber. When disposed adjacent to one another or formed as a single frame, the collective chambers can form a second polyhedron. For example, the octagonal prism of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> has an outer frame with a first octagonal shape of reflective chambers, and the reflective chambers form an inner chamber having a second octagonal shape. The first polyhedron and second polyhedron may have the same shape, but the second polyhedron may be smaller in height, length, width, or any combination thereof. Similarly, the reflective chambers may have fewer metal surfaces than five as in the reflective chambers illustrated. For example, the reflective chamber may include two or more metal surfaces to direct the electromagnetic energy in certain directions from the metal housing. Similarly, there may be more or less of the pairs of the directional antennas, the dual-band WLAN antennas, the WAN antennas, as described above.

In another embodiment, a housing includes a first reflective chamber, a second reflective chamber, a third reflective chamber, and a fourth reflective chamber, each of the first, second, third, and fourth reflective chambers including at least three metal surfaces within a recessed region at a side of the housing. The four antennas are disposed inside respective ones of the four reflective chambers. Four radios are disposed on a circuit board and couple to the respective four antennas. The first radio is operable to cause the first antenna to radiate electromagnetic energy in a first frequency range and the first reflector chamber is operable to reflect the electromagnetic energy in a first direction away from the housing. The second radio is operable to cause the second antenna to radiate electromagnetic energy in the first frequency range and the second reflector chamber is operable to reflect the electromagnetic energy in a second direction away from the housing. The third radio is operable to cause the third antenna to radiate electromagnetic energy in the first frequency range and the third reflector chamber is operable to reflect the electromagnetic energy in a third direction away from the housing. The fourth radio is operable to cause the fourth antenna to radiate electromagnetic energy in the first frequency range and the fourth reflector chamber is operable to reflect the electromagnetic energy in a fourth direction away from the housing.

In a further embodiment, a fifth antenna and a sixth antenna are disposed inside the first reflective chamber and the third reflective chambers, respectively. Fifth and sixth radios on the circuit board are operable to cause the fifth and sixth antennas, respectively, to radiate electromagnetic energy in the first frequency range, or alternatively, in a second frequency ranges. These antennas and radios may be dual-band WLAN technologies, such as the Wi-Fi®technology. These antennas may include multiple elements, such as a monopole element and a parasitic ground element, such as described herein. In a further embodiment, seventh and eighth antennas are disposed inside the first reflective chamber and the third reflective chambers, respectively. A seventh radio, or a seventh and an eighth radio, is operable to cause the seventh and eighth antennas to radiate electromagnetic energy in a third frequency range. These antennas and radios may be any WAN type technologies, such as the LTE, 3G, 2G, or the like. These antennas may include multiple elements, such as a monopole element and a parasitic ground element, such as described herein. The embodiments described above may be disposed in a square or rectangular shape prism with four reflective chambers on the sides. In other embodiments, more than four reflective chambers may be used, such as upper and lower chambers on the top and bottom sides, as well as additional reflective chambers on the sides, such as to form a pentagonal prism, a hexagonal prism, the octagonal prism, as described herein, or the like.

In a further embodiment, there may be additional antennas disposed in additional chambers, such as an upper chamber at a top side of the housing. For example, in one embodiment, a ninth antenna is disposed in a fifth chamber and selectively coupled to the first radio. The fifth chamber has a recessed region on a top side of the housing. The fifth chamber may be reflective as described herein. The first radio, which may be a 2×2 MIMO radio as described herein, may be operable to cause the ninth antenna to radiate electromagnetic energy in the first frequency range. A tenth antenna may be disposed in a sixth chamber and selectively coupled to the third radio. The sixth chamber has a recessed region on a bottom side of the housing. The sixth chamber may be reflective as described herein. The third radio, which may also be a 2×2 MIMO radio, may be operable to cause the tenth antenna to radiate electromagnetic energy in the first frequency range. In a further embodiment, an eleventh antenna may be disposed in the fifth chamber and selectively coupled to one of the first radio, the second radio, the third radio, or the fourth radio. The ninth antenna may be a vertical orientation antenna and the eleventh antenna may be a horizontal orientation antenna. In another embodiment, a twelfth antenna is disposed in the sixth chamber and selectively coupled to one of the first radio, the second radio, the third radio, or the fourth radio. The tenth antenna may be a vertical orientation antenna and the twelfth antenna may be a horizontal orientation antenna.

In a further embodiment, a thirteenth antenna is disposed inside the first reflective chamber and a fifth radio is disposed on the circuit board and coupled to the thirteenth antenna. The fifth radio is operable to cause the thirteenth antenna to radiate electromagnetic energy in at least one of the first frequency range or a second frequency range. A fourteenth antenna may be disposed inside the third reflective chamber and coupled to the fifth radio. The fifth radio is operable to cause the fourteenth antenna to radiate electromagnetic energy in at least one of the first frequency range or a second frequency range.

In a further embodiment, a fifteenth antenna is disposed inside the first reflective chamber and a sixth radio is disposed on the circuit board and coupled to the fifteenth antenna. The sixth radio is operable to cause the fifteenth antenna to radiate electromagnetic energy in a third frequency range. A sixteenth antenna may be disposed inside the third reflective chamber and coupled to the sixth radio. The sixth radio is operable to cause the sixteenth antenna to radiate electromagnetic energy in the third frequency range.

In one embodiment, the hexagonal prism may include, in addition to the four or six chambers described above, a seventh reflective chamber and an eighth reflective chamber. In another embodiment, the octagonal prism may include these chambers and ninth and tenth reflective chambers. Pairs of antennas, including a vertical orientation antenna and a horizontal orientation antenna can be disposed within individual ones of these additional reflective chambers.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 17</figref> is a block diagram of a network hardware device <b>1700</b> according to one embodiment. The network hardware device <b>1700</b> may correspond to the network hardware device <b>102</b>-<b>110</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>. In another embodiment, the network hardware device <b>1700</b> may correspond to the network hardware devices <b>202</b>-<b>210</b> in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref>. In another embodiment, the network hardware device <b>1700</b> may correspond to the mesh node <b>300</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref>. Alternatively, the network hardware device <b>1700</b> may be other electronic devices, as described herein.

The network hardware device <b>1700</b> includes one or more processor(s) <b>1730</b>, such as one or more CPUs, microcontrollers, field programmable gate arrays, or other types of processors. The network hardware device <b>1700</b> also includes system memory <b>1706</b>, which may correspond to any combination of volatile and/or non-volatile storage mechanisms. The system memory <b>1706</b> stores information that provides operating system component <b>1708</b>, various program modules <b>1710</b>, program data <b>1712</b>, and/or other components. In one embodiment, the system memory <b>1706</b> stores instructions of methods to control operation of the network hardware device <b>1700</b>. The network hardware device <b>1700</b> performs functions by using the processor(s) <b>1730</b> to execute instructions provided by the system memory <b>1706</b>.

The network hardware device <b>1700</b> also includes a data storage device <b>1714</b> that may be composed of one or more types of removable storage and/or one or more types of non-removable storage. The data storage device <b>1714</b> includes a computer-readable storage medium <b>1716</b> on which is stored one or more sets of instructions embodying any of the methodologies or functions described herein. Instructions for the program modules <b>1710</b> may reside, completely or at least partially, within the computer-readable storage medium <b>1716</b>, system memory <b>1706</b> and/or within the processor(s) <b>1730</b> during execution thereof by the network hardware device <b>1700</b>, the system memory <b>1706</b> and the processor(s) <b>1730</b> also constituting computer-readable media. The network hardware device <b>1700</b> may also include one or more input devices <b>1718</b> (keyboard, mouse device, specialized selection keys, etc.) and one or more output devices <b>1720</b> (displays, printers, audio output mechanisms, etc.).

The network hardware device <b>1700</b> further includes a modem <b>1722</b> to allow the network hardware device <b>1700</b> to communicate via a wireless connections (e.g., such as provided by the wireless communication system) with other computing devices, such as remote computers, an item providing system, and so forth. The modem <b>1722</b> can be connected to one or more RF radios <b>1786</b> (also referred to as RF modules or RF chips). The RF radios <b>1786</b> may be a WLAN radio, a WAN radio, PAN radio, GPS radio, or the like. The antenna structures (antenna(s) <b>1784</b>, <b>1785</b>, <b>1787</b>) are coupled to the RF circuitry <b>1783</b>, which is coupled to the modem <b>1722</b>. The RF circuitry <b>1783</b> may include radio front-end circuitry, antenna switching circuitry (e.g., <b>424</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref>), impedance matching circuitry, or the like. The antennas <b>1784</b> may be GPS antennas, NFC antennas, other WAN antennas, WLAN or PAN antennas, or the like. The modem <b>1722</b> allows the network hardware device <b>1700</b> to handle both voice and non-voice communications (such as communications for text messages, multimedia messages, media downloads, web browsing, etc.) with a wireless communication system. The modem <b>1722</b> may provide network connectivity using any type of mobile network technology including, for example, cellular digital packet data (CDPD), general packet radio service (GPRS), EDGE, universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), 1 times radio transmission technology (1×RTT), evaluation data optimized (EVDO), high-speed down-link packet access (HSDPA), Wi-Fi®, Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE Advanced (sometimes generally referred to as 4G), etc.

The modem <b>1722</b> may generate signals and send these signals to antenna(s) <b>1784</b> of a first type (e.g., WLAN 5 GHz), antenna(s) 1785 of a second type (e.g., WLAN 2.4 GHz), and/or antenna(s) <b>1787</b> of a third type (e.g., WAN), via RF circuitry <b>1783</b>, and RF radio(s) <b>1786</b> as descried herein. Antennas <b>1784</b>, <b>1785</b>, <b>1787</b> may be configured to transmit in different frequency bands and/or using different wireless communication protocols. The antennas <b>1784</b>, <b>1785</b>, <b>1787</b> may be directional, omnidirectional, or non-directional antennas. In addition to sending data, antennas <b>1784</b>, <b>1785</b>, <b>1787</b> may also receive data, which is sent to appropriate RF radios connected to the antennas. One of the antennas <b>1784</b>, <b>1785</b>, <b>1787</b> may be any combination of the antenna structures described herein.

In one embodiment, the network hardware device <b>1700</b> establishes a first connection using a first wireless communication protocol, and a second connection using a different wireless communication protocol. The first wireless connection and second wireless connection may be active concurrently, for example, if a network hardware device is receiving a media item from another network hardware device (e.g., a mini-POP device) via the first connection) and transferring a file to another user device (e.g., via the second connection) at the same time. Alternatively, the two connections may be active concurrently during wireless communications with multiple devices. In one embodiment, the first wireless connection is associated with a first resonant mode of an antenna structure that operates at a first frequency band and the second wireless connection is associated with a second resonant mode of the antenna structure that operates at a second frequency band. In another embodiment, the first wireless connection is associated with a first antenna structure and the second wireless connection is associated with a second antenna. In other embodiments, the first wireless connection may be associated with content distribution within mesh nodes of the WMN and the second wireless connection may be associated with serving a content file to a client consumption device, as described herein.

Though a modem <b>1722</b> is shown to control transmission and reception via antenna (<b>1784</b>, <b>1785</b>, <b>1787</b>), the network hardware device <b>1700</b> may alternatively include multiple modems, each of which is configured to transmit/receive data via a different antenna and/or wireless transmission protocol.

In the above description, numerous details are set forth. It will be apparent, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure, that embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form, rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuring the description.

Some portions of the detailed description are presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the above discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as “inducing,” “parasitically inducing,” “radiating,” “detecting,” determining,” “generating,” “communicating,” “receiving,” “disabling,” or the like, refer to the actions and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (e.g., electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.

Embodiments also relate to an apparatus for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise a general-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions.

The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct a more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structure for a variety of these systems will appear from the description below. In addition, the present embodiments are not described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the present invention as described herein. It should also be noted that the terms “when” or the phrase “in response to,” as used herein, should be understood to indicate that there may be intervening time, intervening events, or both before the identified operation is performed.

It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading and understanding the above description. The scope of the present embodiments should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.